Head Groundsman, Ben Harwood has today provided the club with an update on the pitch rennovations that have and are due to take place during the close season.
Harwood said: "Coming out of the wettest winter in ten years, it was clear for all to see that we had issues regarding the stability of the lateral drain lines. Whilst the weather and the amount of games took its toll on the pitch, we also struggled to get a good root structure last summer, owing to the short lead time before the first pre-season fixture. Throughout the season, we put several ideas towards our pitch consultants, the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) on how to rectify the problems and visited other pitches who had similar issues in the past, including a trip to a League One club – who now boast one of the best surfaces in the league. They solved their issue by ameliorating fibre sand into their surface to help with stability - something the club were looking at the before Coronavirus took over. Whilst not knowing if the 2019/20 season was going to resume, our concerns regarding the pitch were raised with the board. Having liaised with the EFL, we sought it necessary to begin with some form of a renovation having lost the time frame to complete the previously desired fibre sand renovation and proceeded to try and right the wrongs from last season as best we could in light of the current financial implications faced by all business’ and football clubs across the country. The board backed this notion and with an increased grow in time, and hopefully a drier winter, we are working hard to keep any known issues to a minimum with the potential for fibre sand being put on hold for now."
Ben Harwood, Head Groundsman & Director of Complete Turf Care Ltd
