Town Head Groundsman John Silvester provides an insight into Town's pitch preparation for next season.
During the 2020/21 campaign, Shrewsbury Town's pitch received plaudits from many people in the football world for the standard of the surface. Most notably, Town's ground staff received recognition from the EFL with their 'Highly Commendable' badge in their End of Season awards.
However, work has now started on the Salop pitch - as the pitch is ripped up - to ensure Steve Cotterill and his Salop XI have another Premier League Standard surface to utilise during the upcoming campaign.
Town Head Groundsman John Silvester gave an insight into the work going into the pitch as his team looks to provide another immaculate surface for Town's players to use.
On the process:
"The pitch is looking like a beach at the minute," said John. "We have removed the vegetation and put some seed into it. It has been aerated and fertilized, now we are looking to get the grass growing again. You have to monitor it until the seed comes up. It's a slow process but hopefully with the hot temperatures coming, it will grow quicker.
"The cold has delayed us all the way through, to be honest; we've only had two dry days. We are renovating here and the training ground - the weather has been a problem. Having some better weather now will definitely help us.
On the Highly Commended award:
"Me and the two lads couldn't believe it really. It has been a long season but it's always nice to get a pat on the back. People turning up on a match-day and telling you the pitch is great makes you feel good. We make sure we do the little things well and you need luck with the weather.
"The team want a great surface to play on and we want to maintain a good pitch. In the next couple of weeks, we will see the grass really start to come up - especially with the good weather."
