Whiting gives detailed update on pitch concerns at the PTS and Moulton College

The churned-up nature of the usually excellent playing surface at the PTS has been a major talking point this season, especially with Keith Curle and his players regularly trainining at the stadium instead of Moulton College.

However, as Whiting explains, training on the pitch isn't the main problem.

"It is well known that when Keith came to the club he identified that the two pitches used by previous first team managers at Moulton College were not ideal for the environment he wanted," Whiting wrote on the Supporters' Trust's website.

"We therefore worked with Moulton to identify two additional pitches/areas that could be used by the first team and switched the academy to the previous first team pitches which also improved the pitches they had access to.

"These pitches required significant works to bring them into play and much of this work was planned for spring/summer 2020 to bring them fully into play for the first team for season 2020/21. We had also identified an area with Moulton College to site extensive buildings that would house changing rooms, offices, physio room, a gym and canteen so that we had an area of our own within close proximity to the pitches and to enhance our training environment.

"The investment for all of this runs into several hundred thousand pounds. Clearly with the arrival of COVID-19 and the severe financial challenges facing the club as a result these plans have for now been put on hold while we work to protect the short, medium and long term financial health of the club."

Cobblers trained at the PTS in preparation for the play-offs last summer before returning for the 2020/21 campaign.

Whiting continues: "With the restrictions we had in accessing Moulton College due to the lockdown to complete the necessary maintenance work to the pitches, plus the fact that we were and still are operating in a situation where the virus is very prevalent and we would continue to need to provide a bio-secure environment, we commenced training for the 2020/21 season at the PTS Academy Stadium.

"Pitch renovations are completed on a cycle over a few years. We tend to complete a full renovation where we completely take the top layer off of the pitch and reseed every three/four years dependant on various factors.

"In the years in-between we complete a slightly more basic renovation to varying scales dependant on where we feel the pitch is in its cycle at that time. We had planned in summer 2020 to complete a full renovation. This helps stability of the pitch and also improves the quality of surface by removing the bad grass species and replacing them with the higher quality species of grass.

"A full renovation needs eight weeks until the pitch can be used and more basic ones needs around six weeks. So clearly while the majority of League One and Two clubs had ample time to complete renovation works, the above factors and timescales as a result of our involvement in the play-offs in this unusual year resulted in us simply not having the time required to do the works we would want to do.

"The grounds staff carried out what works they could in the very short period available to get the pitch in the best condition possible for the start of pre-season and continue to carry out remedial work and maintenance weekly to maintain the pitch to the best standard possible.

"Training on the stadium pitch during the summer and early autumn months if managed correctly through maintenance programmes and rotating actually has very little impact as the grass is still growing and any damage recovers quickly.

"In the winter months it's clearly more challenging with less growth and more wet weather. However, it is worth noting that in this compressed season the amount of long technical or double training sessions is much reduced, with two games a week the norm, we are going game to game with recovery and match prep being the focus.

"We are now moving to the time where I expect more training sessions will take place at Moulton College when required on a pitch that is now of a good standard.

"It is also worth noting that many of the comments about the pitch came after two games in particular. Firstly the Southampton U21s EFL Trophy game and secondly the Accrington Stanley league game. We experienced extreme weather ahead of both of these games which had a big impact.

"For the Southampton game we experienced a freak storm in the hours before kick off which waterlogged the pitch and in truth the referee probably shouldn’t have allowed that game to go ahead. For the Accrington game we had torrential rain in the 12 hours leading up to kick off.

"The restrictions on our ability to complete the full renovation this summer impacts the pitches ability to take water and drain as well as it would have done if we had been able to complete that work and in truth this and the fact the pitch is in its fourth season since a full renovation for events out of our control is having as bigger impact on the pitch as training on it is."