KEEPER Mathew Ryan insists a trip to Stoke holds no fears for Albion – after proving themselves at Old Trafford.

The Seagulls face a sell-out crowd at the bet365 Stadium tomorrow and a Stoke side fired up by a rallying cry from skipper Ryan Shawcross in their fight against relegation.

Shawcross remarked ahead of Albion’s visit that “we need teams to be scared coming to our place”.

Ryan is confident the only danger of the Seagulls freezing will come from the weather in the Potteries.

The Australian No.1 has pinpointed the unfortunate 1-0 defeat at Manchester United earlier in the season as compelling evidence they will not shrink in the six-pointer in the scrap for Premier League survival.

Ryan told The Argus: “I don’t think so. You look at our performances away against other teams. We’ve had two good wins, West Ham and Swansea.

“The game that has stuck in my mind is Old Trafford away, the performance we put in there.

“If any footballer was going to be scared or daunted of a place, I think Old Trafford would be right up there.

“The performance from everyone on that day I guess takes that out of the count. You’ve got to consistently keep doing that, where ever it is.

“It’s another challenge for us, Stoke away. Hopefully we can start very positively and not give their fans a chance to get in the game.”

World Cup-bound Ryan has kept eight clean sheets and helped Albion to the best defensive record of any team outside the top eight since a summer switch from Valencia.

He said: “This season my form has been some of the best of my career. I am just enjoying the relationship with Ben Roberts (coach) and the other goalkeepers and contributing week in, week out.

“In Spain that was taken away from me a little bit, not getting that regular game time.

“I am enjoying that regular game time again and also playing at the highest level. That is something I have been striving to achieve in the league.”