Motherwell have expressed “deep concern” for the welfare of players due to the state of the Dens Park pitch after their clash at Dundee was called ON.
Referee David Dickinson conducted two pitch inspections, the first at 11am before deferring the final decision to 1pm.
Following the second one, the pitch was deemed playable.
However, the Steelmen have released a statement revealing their concern at the decision to push ahead with the match.
The Motherwell statement said: “We can confirm that following a second pitch inspection this afternoon, our cinch Premiership match against Dundee is on.
“Whilst we are pleased with the outcome of the second pitch inspection, we remain strongly sympathetic to all travelling supporters due the uncertainty around today’s fixture.
“For those who are making the journey to Dundee, the club would like to extend a personal thank you for your dedication and understanding.
“We also deeply concerned for the welfare of all players ahead of this match, despite the referee assuring that he is happy that this won’t be an issue.”
Dens Park pitch inspection pic.twitter.com/JGEM7Q1ZBv
— George Cran (@di_cranio) April 6, 2024
Stuart Kettlewell
Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewall added later in an interview with BBC Scotland: “It has been the most ridiculous three or four days leading up to this game.
“There has been suggestions of contingencies, getting messages from Dundee saying there was no chance this game would be on today.
“These are not official channels but you know how things work in football.
“We are here in 2024 and trying to make this game better, sell the best product we can in Scottish football.
“Motherwell realised in 2022 they had a problem and spent £1.25 million on the pitch.
“The pitch at Fir Park has been playable all week.
“We played here on the second of August on the first day of the season and I said to people ‘wait to you see the problems you’re going to have with Dens Park’ because it was almost called off on the first day.
“There were puddles and water splashing up all over the place.
Investing money in the pitch
“I feel strongly on this because when you invest that money, it comes out of my player budget.
“So what then starts to happen is clubs can pay more, I could give you specific examples where they offer more money for certain players.
“And that can come about because you don’t invest that money in your infrastructure and pitch.
“I know some people will disagree and come up with excuses.
“But we are all well-educated people and we can all see that’s the case here.
“If you want to pay players more and jump in, say you’re going to pay someone X amount more than I can pay, you can understand where my argument comes from.
“Then my board turn around and tell me, rightly so, that what are we going to do, will we just leave our pitch to be a state? Or do we try to put a proper surface out there?
“We talk about developing the game and playing in the proper environment, that’s what we should be doing.
“I understand there can be call offs during a season and it’s fine if it’s a one-off, but when you’re up to four or five a season there’s a bigger issue.”
Dundee boss Tony Docherty said in his pre-match interview: “We train on astroturf because the rain has been torrential all week. For the ground staff and helpers to get the game on, they deserve a lot of credit.
“Saturday at 3 o’clock is when the game should be played. We want to keep the routine as much as we can so I’m delighted the game is on today.”
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