MOTHERWELL have brought in a team of experts to help improve drainage on the pitch to make sure that the remainder of their fixtures at Fir Park are fulfilled this season.
The Lanarkshire side have seven games left before the end of the season, with at least three of them to be played at home, starting with this weekend's clash with Hibs. Manager Mark McGhee has been one of the most vociferous critics of the playing s
urface at Fir Park and will be glad of the temporary fix.
But the Motherwell board hope to permanently rectify the problem when the SPL breaks for the close season at the end of May.
A statement from Motherwell chief executive Ian Stillie on the club's official website said: "Investigations involving third-party experts concluded that the particles meshing with the clay-based soil have hardened around the undersoil heating pipes and created an impermeable layer below the root zone surface.
"That has made natural drainage of the pitch difficult and the problem was exacerbated by the record rainfall of the past three months. At present the short-term work appears to have overcome the identified issue.
"The drainage process is a short-term fix to potentially fulfil our remaining SPL fixtures at Fir Park.
"Simultaneously, with this remedial action, we are assessing the scope of work for a permanent solution to this issue during the summer."
The full article contains 243 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
