Rodgers reveals pitch worries

Swansea City manager Brendan Rodgers says the team have been forced to train on an artificial surface since November.

According to Rodgers, his players have been forced to share an advanced synthetic surface with rugby union club Ospreys, after Swansea’s grass pitches drastically deteriorated late last year.

Rodgers took his squad to Tenerife for warm-weather training this week, a welcome break from the issues they have had to face at their own training ground.

“People don’t realise the problems we have had. We have been on an artificial pitch for three-and-a-half months,” Rodgers told Wales Online.

“The training pitches were terrific last year but we tried to improve them even more. There was work carried out last summer and the soil that went in and old soil taken out made the surface firm.”

“When the new grass was growing the root couldn’t go into the soil. It was loose. So when the players were running on it the soil was coming up. It was proving dangerous and also wasn’t suiting the nature of our game.”

The former Watford and Reading manager believes the issues will not affect the team’s positive mentality, and hopes the improvement work will be completed soon.

“As much as we want to improve – and it’s more pitches than anything else – there’s a real positive (feeling) about where we train,” he said.

“But of course, we want better facilities … computer and video suites which will help us improve.”

“There is a programme of work which the chairman and the groundsman are putting into place. Then we’ll have a couple of fantastic pitches.”