Cobblers to continue training at the PTS but Curle hopeful the pitch will hold up

Surface was cutting up during defeat to Accrington
Keith Curle gave the groundstaff a helping hand before last month's EFL Trophy tie against Southampton U21s.Keith Curle gave the groundstaff a helping hand before last month's EFL Trophy tie against Southampton U21s.
Keith Curle gave the groundstaff a helping hand before last month's EFL Trophy tie against Southampton U21s.

Cobblers do not plan to stop training at the PTS Academy Stadium despite growing concerns over the state of the pitch.

The surface was already looking a little churned up before Saturday's game against Accrington Stanley which, for large parts, was played in the pouring rain.

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In a recent interview, Curle said the pitches at Moulton College, which has been used as a training ground in the past, are 'not up to the level' suitable to train, and therefore the players do most of their work at the stadium.

However, that has had a detrimental impact on the pitch, and it is only likely to get worse as we enter the middle of winter.

"The ground staff have been working tremendously hard on the surface," said Curle. "We've had it drained so the water isn't on the surface like we had against Southampton.

"The water has been absorbed but the ground staff are working hard and giving us the best that they can give us and that's all we can ask for.

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"With the bank of games coming up on Saturdays and Tuesdays, there will be fewer training days and fewer heavy training days, but there's an understanding from the groundstaff that we need a consistent surface to train on."

The surface, coupled with the horrid conditions, made for a scrappy encounter against Stanley.

Nicky Adams said: "It's tough. The pitch is very difficult. Unfortunately at the moment we have to train on it as well and it takes its toll, but it's no-one's fault.

"I think you've seen that when we've played away from home, we've played some really good stuff, and there were times on Saturday when we did get into good positions and we put balls into the box and on another day someone nods one in or the bounce of the ball goes our way.

"The weather wasn't great but there are no excuses. It's the same for both teams and we lost the game."

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