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Soccer-Sherwood warns fans to stay in the stands against West Brom

(Adds Pulis quotes) Sept 18 (Reuters) - Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has urged fans to stay in their seats when his side face West Bromwich Albion in the season's first West Midlands derby on Saturday in an attempt to avoid a repeat of last season's ugly scenes. The bitter rivals last faced each other in the sixth round of the FA Cup at Villa Park in March, and Sherwood's men emerged as 2-0 winners in a game in which both sides had a man sent off, amid scenes of violence and crowd trouble that resulted in two fans being arrested. West Brom's supporters reportedly ripped out seats and hurled them onto the pitch, while the home side's fans invaded the pitch twice. "We're delighted with the support they give this football club but it can done from their seats," Sherwood told reporters at his pre-match news conference on Friday. "But make sure you stay off the pitch. I just hope you get tempted to jump on it because that means we've done something right," he added, while acknowledging the special significance of the derby. "Derbies are good games to be involved in. I hear a lot of managers say it's just another game. It's not. It's a lot more than that. Local pride and bragging rights. "We need to make sure we do it for our fans and for ourselves," the 46-year-old said. Sherwood, whose team beat West Brom on both occasions the rivals met at Villa Park last season, will be without the services of Adama Traore, Idrissa Gana and Carles Gil due to injury. One potential flashpoint at the game could be defender Joleon Lescott, who moved from West Brom to Aston Villa on transfer deadline day. Baggies' manager Tony Pulis, however, was quick to dismiss suggestions that the player's transfer to a local rival could inflame tensions among the fans. "Joleon's a wonderful player and a wonderful lad. He wanted to go and they wanted him. That was it, no problems at all," Pulis told reporters. "He's been a wonderful player coming to the back-end of a fantastic career so there was no way I was going to stop him. "He was one of the players I put my confidence in when I first came to the club. I've a lot of time for him and wish him all the best," the manager added. ($1 = 0.6395 pounds) (Reporting by Simon Jennings and Shravanth VIjayakumer in Bengaluru; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty and Toby Davis)