Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has received assurances that the Pittodrie pitch will not hamper his team’s aspirations.
The surface has looked tired and bare in recent weeks and, despite fears about how this will impact on his players, McInnes has been told by experts that the pitch will recover.
The Dons relaid their pitch at the end of last season ahead of the Europa League qualifiers but, less than a year on, it is looking short of its best.
A lack of grass is the main problem for McInnes and he hopes the issue can be remedied without any impact to Aberdeen’s push for silverware.
McInnes said: “I had a meeting with the pitch experts last week and we were assured that the pitch will come back.
“There was a lot of good work done on the pitch at the start of the season but, in terms of the surface, underneath it’s still firm. There’s just a lack of grass on it at the minute and it can really cause us problems.
“It doesn’t make it easy for the players. We all want to see a lovely, smooth surface but it is the type of surface which doesn’t bring a lot of speed to the game, so our movement and our own speed off the ball has got to be better and even more important.
“At times, it threatens to embarrass players with having to take that extra touch and mis-control. You need to be fully concentrated on it.
“Obviously we’re all wanting to be playing on a better surface than what we are currently.”
Their first competitive fixture on the relaid surface was the Europa League fixture against Siroki Brijeg on July 13 but McInnes does not think the early start is solely to blame.
He added: “I don’t think it’s just down to that. It’s not my expertise but you scratch your head how it can deteriorate so quickly.
“Having spoken with the experts, they have given valid reasons for maybe why it’s happened.
“But they’re confident that it will recover in the next month or so to a
decent surface again.”
The Dons will not have to worry about the Pittodrie surface this weekend as they make the trip to Edinburgh to face Hibernian.
Striker Stevie May is in contention after missing the last five matches due to an ankle injury.
McInnes had hoped to have May available after the winter break but is confident the former St Johnstone forward has put his injury woe behind him.
He said: “He trained last week and did loads of work individually.
“On Friday he was back involved and scored a lot of goals which was great for us and absolutely brilliant for Stevie and his confidence. He has taken a big step forward.”
The Dons’ next home game will be against reigning Premiership champions Celtic on Sunday, February 25.
