Head Groundsman Marcus Cassidy talks about pitch improvements, England Women and the first cut…

It is hard to believe that it is only three weeks and two days since the pitch was reseeded. The first cut took place today and the playing surface is progressing well.

The second dose of fertiliser went down last week and that will be kicking in over the next few days. Some seeds are still waiting to germinate but there is a lot of good growth out there already. The first cut just took the top off the pitch and encourages further growth.

Part of the work this year saw sand slits created in the pitch and at the moment any water that goes onto the pitch is passing through pretty quickly. That's good news in the long-term, but in the short-term it just means we have to get more water on. In tandem with the extra water the fertiliser programme will also be increased - resulting in a few more cuts later this week. At the moment the pitch cutting is carried out with a small mower, as the larger ride-on mower cannot be used until growth is near complete due to the stress it places on the grass. At the moment it takes around six hours to cut the pitch!

The Carling Cup draw is out tomorrow and with the fixtures being announced on Wednesday, it makes for an exciting time of year. As a Groundsman the first games you look for are the first game of the season and the ones over the Christmas period, when the schedule is notoriously heavy. Hopefully the first game of the season will be away to give the pitch even more time. What else would you expect from a Groundsman?

The first game on the pitch ahead of the 2009/10 League One season will take place on Wednesday 22nd July when the England Women take on Denmark in a friendly. By that time the pitch will have had eight weeks to recover and that's ideal.

Roll on the sunshine…