Peter Clarke may have one of the hardest jobs at Arbroath Football Club.
As groundsman, he is tasked with keeping the Gayfield surface in pristine condition throughout the year.
It’s a daunting prospect for any horticulturalist. Add the fact that the ground is closer to the sea than any other in Europe and it makes the challenge even greater.
Peter is not new to the role though. The 2022/2023 season will be his 18th tending to the Gayfield turf after taking on the position in 2005.
But he revealed his job at Arbroath is not all about the grass, you have to be willing to get stuck in and about a number of tasks.
More than ‘just a groundsman’
“You are not actually just a groundsman,” Peter said. “You’re a general everybody here.
“We all muck in and do bits and pieces for everybody.
“My general job is to get the pitch ready for a game on a Saturday but we do other things; clean balls, move kits, concrete work, a bit of everything.”
Peter admits Gayfield’s proximity to the North Sea does throw up a number of challenges.
Looking forward to seeing an old friend on Saturday. @ArbroathFC pic.twitter.com/ASg5VjrKXl
— tHEsATURDAYbOY ⚽️🏴☠️📸🏳️🌈 (@_TheSaturdayboy) April 13, 2022
The weather is an obvious factor. Howling gales can often affect play during a game – and they also affect the surface.
“In winter there are brutal winds, rain, everything gets thrown at you,” he said.
“Then in the summer the wind again is a big thing, it just dries everything out so much.
“We’ve constantly got the water on trying to get the grass to grow again for the start of the season.
“The wind and the sea air are a real challenge.”
Seagull attacks not uncommon
Then there are other obstacles which are more unexpected.
No one expects to go to their work and expect to be attacked, but that’s just part of the job on the coast.
“We do get plagued with seagulls,” Peter added. “You have to be careful when they are nesting and their young are born.
“We end up getting divebombed all the time.
“Monday mornings can be quite funny. A lot of crabs and different parts of animals are found lying on the pitch.
“We have a friendly hawk, or some sort of bird of prey, that comes in and likes to tend to our pigeon problem.
“We find dead pigeons kicking about now and again but crab shells are the most common thing found on the pitch.”
Like the playing squad, Peter is gearing up for the new season ahead of the first clash at Gayfield on July 13, when Arbroath host Cowdenbeath in the Premier Sports Cup.
📁 Arbroath FC
– – 📂 Season 2021 / 22
– – – 📂 Photographs
– – – – 📂 11-09-2021
– – – – – 📂 Best football pitch in Scotland.jpgStunning image of the Gayfield Pitch captured this morning after a creative cut by our groundsman @boonsbushes0681 pic.twitter.com/bgxvoCSyuS
— Arbroath FC (@ArbroathFC) September 11, 2021
But with so little time since the last match at the Angus ground, he reveals work began on treating the surface before the end of last season.
“This year was a bit different because we were in the play-offs,” said Peter.
“I knew we were going to have a short period of time so we had a gap of two weeks prior to the end of the season, so I got the pitch reseeded at that point.
“It made life a bit easier straight after the last game. We just needed to do a bit of light scarification, fertilising and left it to thicken up.”
Love for Arbroath and the job
Regardless of the effort involved, Peter wouldn’t have it any other way.
His affiliation with Arbroath goes way back before his stint as groundsman.
As a youngster, he attended games home and away – even braving the elements to attend reserve games in the late 1990s.
Now, after all that time in his younger years just watching players take to the pitch, he is very much centre stage himself.
“I love being involved in the club,” Peter said.
“When you’ve been here this long you grow to the place.
“Everybody here is really good, it’s a great place to be.
“I like the fact that on a Saturday, when the pitch is looking in pristine condition you can stand back and say ‘I did that, that’s my work there’.”
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