Brighton and Hove Albion and Sussex Police say they are confident of safety at the club's home matches this year.

Among the Seagulls' opponents in Division One will be Millwall, and scenes from last season rest uneasily in the mind.

A hundred police officers were injured as the south London club's supporters clashed with Birmingham fans during the promotion play-offs.

But fears of welcoming fans of Millwall or other big clubs to the Albion this season are not shared by the club or police.

There has been a 25 per cent reduction in the number of arrests at Withdean every year it has been used by the club. Security chiefs are confident the positive trend will continue.

Safety precautions and stringent penalties for troublemakers have worked so well they are being copied by clubs up and down the country.

Albion and the police have given assurances that contingencies are in place to ensure crunch matches will be safe and enjoyable for fans and families.

Sergeant Alan Goodall, Sussex Police's football liaison officer, said home games fell into three categories.

Trouble was considered least likely at matches rated A, most at those rated C.

Policing and stewarding were tailored for games depending on category.

There are four C games at Withdean this season, all on Saturdays: Portsmouth on January 18, Wolves on February 8, Millwall on February 22 and Crystal Palace on March 29.

Police and the club have said they will be prepared.

But the Albion received bad press recently when the Home Office announced the number of the club's fans arrested at matches had increased by more than 50 per cent.

The list of offences, in or around the grounds, included pitch invasions, violence and racist chanting.

A total of 38 Albion fans were arrested at league games in 2001/2 compared with 25 in the 2000/1 season.

The club's record was the fifth worst in Division Two, which Albion won promotion from in May.

Only Port Vale, Stoke, Cardiff and Bristol City had more fans arrested, according to police minister John Denham.

A breakdown revealed one of the arrests was for violent disorder, seven for public disorder, three for racist chanting, seven for running on to the pitch, 12 for alcohol offences and eight for other miscellaneous offences.

A total of seven banning orders, which prevent admission to any football ground at home or abroad, including the World Cup, were served on Albion fans last season.

But, revealingly, the majority of the arrests (29) were at away matches.

The nine at Withdean represented a 25 per cent reduction on the number arrested at or around the ground last year.

The number is tiny and less than that for arrests in the city centre on most weekend nights.

Mr Goodall said: "The figure for home game arrests has fallen massively and you have to remember out of those nine, some were for very minor incidents.

"If someone has drunk too much and is refused entry to the ground but persists then he will be arrested."

Police and the club are getting used to the team's success and are also getting security down to a fine art.

The club runs an Away Membership Scheme (AMS) which obliges fans to buy tickets before they journey to games. It can vet those applying and refuse tickets to potential troublemakers.

Home matches are all-ticket and even more stronger safeguards have been introduced.

Sussex Police, the club and Ecovert, which runs Withdean, operate SAFE-T (Seagulls Action For Excluding Troublemakers), only the second initiative of its kind in the Britain.

The scheme targets people committing antisocial behaviour at or near Albion matches, home or away.

Antisocial behaviour includes pitch invasions, offensive language and assault. Fans witnessing offences are asked to tell stewards or police.

The three partners share information and intelligence.

Photographs and details of anyone convicted of football-related offences are circulated to the club and Ecovert.

On match days, security cameras at Withdean are used to detect offenders or those already banned.

Offenders face warning letters or lifetime bans but a court-ordered exclusion order carries a prison sentence if the offender tries to gain access to games.

Those arrested for minor offences face a two or three-match ban.

More serious offences are punishable by a season's ban, the most serious by a ban for life.

Mr Goodall said the security systems in place were the envy of other clubs.

In fact, following the Millwall-Birmingham match, Millwall introduced their own version of SAFE-T.

Albion safety adviser Richard Hebberd said: "The fact home matches are all-ticket helps make them safe for supporters, visiting fans and Withdean residents alike.

"During the past few years there has been very little in the way of disorder and we have carefully planned this season's matches with police.

"We are confident this season will be exciting, entertaining - and safe."