DUTV
STORY OF THE MATCH | RANGERS (A)
25th November 2024
Although the undersoil heating has been on at full, record sub zero temperatures over the last few days saw ice still forming on the grass.
Despite this, surface ice had been cleared and most of the pitch was playable this morning, with only some specific areas still to clear. The Club was confident that the thaw which was forecast and occurring this morning, together with the continuing efforts of our ground staff, would have resulted in the whole pitch being playable by early this afternoon.
However, the match referee had to make a decision by no later than 11am and we have no option but to reluctantly accept this decision.
Q. Is the undersoil heating working properly?
The undersoil has been working perfectly for the last five days and nights after a burst pipe at the start of the week. This was quickly fixed and it has functioned exactly as expected, at a cost of some £1000 per day.
It should be understood that the heating system is/was not really designed to cope with the record extremes seen in recent days and weeks, yet despite this it has coped very well with the players having bounce games and training on the pitch at times over the last few weeks.
Even today, most of the surface was fine despite daytime temperatures of minus 12 recorded at times this week. The fact that the pitch was soft underfoot proved that the heating system was effective; it was surface ice that was the problem.
Q. If the pitch inspection was at 10am, what difference did another inspection at 11am make?
At the time of the 10am inspection, it was felt that some 75%/80% of the surface was fine, with some concerns over surface ice in the goalmouths and a strip between the Shed and the centre circle. Over a dozen staff and helpers were at that time being used to scrape this ice away and it was hoped that some additional time would allow the referee to make a positive decision.
Q. What happened between 10am and 11am?
Work continued, and a second inspection at 10.30 suggested that a delaying the decision to 11am made sense. Under new directives, the referee must now make a decision no later than 11am. (4 hours before ko)
Unfortunately, while the Club was confident that the combination of continuing work and an obvious thaw would result in the whole pitch being playable within an hour, the referee took the decision at 11am that "at that time" areas of the pitch were still unplayable.
Q. Do we risk a fine if more games get called off?
Only if it is thought that the Club did not make appropriate efforts to have the matches played. This is clearly not the case as there is little more that we can do in these exceptional circumstances.
Q. What provisions were taken in the last few days to get the pitch playable.
Not only the pitch (as detailed above) but the Club also called in a private contractor to clear the council streets and pavements surrounding Tannadice and worked with the Council and the police to ensure these were sufficiently safe for spectators.
Q. Why was the Rangers game called off due to the streets and pavements being unsafe and then the Hamilton game called off due to the pitch?
Two completetly different factors. The pitch was perfect then and the streets and pavements have now been cleared after deploying contractors with specialist equipment.
Q. Why was website not update more quickly today?
Exceptional activity on the server slowed down the admin function. It took some 15 minutes to upload the news, whereas normally it would take less than 30 seconds. Whilst waiting on this, the opportunity was taken to email and telephone supporters' representatives, groups, messageboards, social media sites and the local media.
