Sixfields surface being prepared for 2014/15
After being praised for the way the pitch stood up to the rigours of the 2013/14 season, the Sixfields pitch is now undergoing its summer renovation programme.
Groundsman Paul Knowles is leading the work, and he explained what is taking place.
"We will have a large number of games on the pitch again next season, so we need to make sure the pitch is stable," he said.
"We want the pitch to play as well and as consistently as possible so last week we stripped the top layer off and we are incorporating fibre sand into the new pitch which will effectively hold the roots together. That should prevent the large scale divoting we saw at times last season during the wet winter.
"It is a 6 week process that we have now started.
"I was pleased that the pitch recovered well last season. We played Chesterfield in really wet weather in January and that took its toll on the pitch but it did recover well from that."