Paul Knowles talks us through his plans for the pitch in 2016/17
The Sixfields pitch is undergoing its summer renovation work and Head Groundsman Paul Knowles has been explaining what is taking place.
"Last week we stripped the top half an inch off the pitch, that fetches out the meadow grass and have then reseeded with rye grass, which is a more preferable grass for the pitch, and added sand," he said.
Knowles won the League 2 Groundsman of the Season award in 2015/16, and says the work taking place is about making sure the pitch plays just as well in 2016/17.
"The pitch did play well last year but it is a case of being cruel to be kind," he admitted.
"If you rest on your laurels the pitch will gradually suffer. Even towards the end of last season we had meadow grass invading and over a few years that will mean the pitch starts to cut up more often, but by doing this work we can keep the pitch is the best condition possible.
"You hope every season goes well and last season went very well. We were lucky with the weather and a lot of credit goes to Sam Shirley who does a lot of hard work here."
The Cobblers are in pre-season action at Sixfields on Tuesday July 19th, and Knowles says he always faces a race against the clock to have the pitch ready for the start of the home pre-season games.
"It is always a tight schedule to get the pitch ready for the first pre-season game. You know it is going to come and it will happen but I always feel better after we have got the first cut in and we can move things forward. I don't like the early stages of the pitch growth!
"Warm and wet are the nest conditions for the pitch, warm days and rain at night is perfect to get the grass growing!
"Six or seven weeks is just enough time and for us and we are always checking the weather to make decisions such as when to geed the pitch, little decisions can have big implications so we are always looking at forecasts to make the right decisions."