Port Vale CEO Matt Hancock says the Port Vale pitch will improve in the final weeks of the season and there will be “significant investment” over the summer to improve.
The pitch has come in for significant criticism in recent weeks and in a fans forum it was revealed that some of the summer works carried out by contractors had failed.
Hancock spoke to the inhouse PVTV team for his “February CEO update” and was not asked if the club will be seeking compensation from the contractors. Instead, he said the weather had played a part.
The work that has been done on the pitch has failed when we’ve really not needed it to which we’ve as always as a club and as a group of staff we have to show resilience, we show the hard work that is needed and we will get through it…
In a lengthy reply to a question on the state of the pitch, Hancock commented: “The reality of the situation has been – you’ve seen pitches up and down the country have struggled just through the sheer amount of rain we’ve had, so the rain we can’t pretend hasn’t had an impact on what the surface would have looked like anyway.
“But unfortunately we’ve had the renovations that have been done and the work that has been done on the pitch has failed when we’ve really not needed it to which we’ve as always as a club and as a group of staff we have to show resilience, we show the hard work that is needed and we will get through it.
“It’s not the pitch that we’ve seen and any of us have got used to over the last two or three years because it’s been a pitch we’ve been absolutely proud of. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to make the real investment into the pitch which is happening so again we’re in conversations with Carol (Shanahan) and the grounds team and contractors.”
Talking of that further investment, Hancock added: “It’s going to be a significant investment and we’re going to get that sorted in the summer. We’re through the worst of it now. It’s not going to be the perfect pitch from now till the end of the season but it will probably get better from what the groundsman has told me.
“So, we’ve just got to deal with the cards we’ve been dealt with at the moment and make the best of the situation. There’s no excuses both teams have got to play on it. Then we get the work done in the summer and the investment that will be made is significant.”
Fans will no doubt be keen to know if this summer’s work will have clauses in it so that the club can obtain compensation from contractors if the work fails again.
Why don’t the board (if we have one ) or the owners either claim compensation from the folks who did the work or better still contact Speedie
Sydney,
With respect, OVF is a politics-free zone so I’ve edited out the political part of your comment. We’d appreciate if you keep the focus just on the football.
Thanks,
Rob
Mr Hancock talks in riddles, avoids any questions and is full of Bull! What exactly did you contribute in the way of hard work to help the group to get through these testing times? Have another cucumber sandwich and have a cup of tea? Do we really need you to tell us, the pitch will start to improve slightly when the rain stops. What would we do without you ? This joker must be up there with Smurthwaite, Flitcroft and Moore!
Ian,
Ditto to my reply to Sydney – if we keep the comments just on the football, that would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Rob
Hi Rob point taken & yes it was tongue in cheek anyway keep up the good work OVF is a great vehicle for fan’s to get things off our chest !!! UTV
Thank you!
No Problem!
Thank you!
I thought this was about the pitch not the football?
“Port Vale CEO Matt Hancock says the Port Vale pitch will improve in the final weeks of the season and there will be “significant investment” over the summer to improve”
If nobody is allowed to comment on this subject then really it shouldn’t of been posted.co
Personally I think the pitch has been a big factor in results and injury and I know p!ayers have expressed their frustration of p!saying in a racetrack.
Hi Hartshill Valiants,
Not sure what your point is. No-one is saying “no one is allowed to comment on the subject”
We welcome comments on the pitch. The issue was that some of the comments contained comments about politics (i.e. national politics). These political comments are now removed and that’s what my replies were about. The comments were not about club “politics”. Comments on Port Vale FC on and off the pitch are welcome.
Thanks.
*What you have not mentioned about the clubs finances and staff are the number of people employed in community schemes and the like.
In the legends hospitality suite a lot of time is taken promoting worthy causes. People are employed in these departments and although this is very laudable it needs investment. Do other clubs do the same?
Alan, to respond isn’t that one of my key points? I don’t know because the club has never explained it.
There is no explanation of the accounts.
If that’s the case and the roles are needed then doesn’t it make sense for the club to explain that (like other clubs do)?
I’m not simply saying people should lose their jobs if the roles can be justified. But the fans are largely in the dark seeing big losses and a huge number of staff with no explanation given.
Thanks for the clarification Rob, I got a bit gnarled thinking we couldn’t discuss the pitch etc. 😉