FOOTBALL
idea and then I work with the contractor.” “So I didn’t waste time, I changed contractor and that was the best thing to do in my opinion. So I brought in Souter Sports, and, together with a guy who I’d worked with before, we formulated a plan to move forward with.”
“The first step was to do a clean up of the surface, to basically remove the organic build-up, the algae that had formed and all of the weed grass that had grown. So we did that, and then brought 100 tonnes of sand in, before spiking it and creating channels down through the profile of the pitch to try and drain surface water off the top.”
“It was all a bit late in the day though and, unfortunately, it didn’t quite allow us the time to do exactly everything we needed to, so we managed to get through the rest of that season just from good groundsmanship to be honest.” Time, limited resources and a severe slope were just a few of the challenges facing Paul and the rest of the team at Motherwell, as the battle to improve the pitch surged on. So, in order to give him as much help as possible, Paul turned to trusted contacts he
64 PC August/September 2018
had made through years of working in the industry, and soon found himself starting to make the important steps towards a better surface. “We tried to work with a lot of companies and a lot of guys who I believed would help us. Initially, we worked with Richard Aitken Seedsmen and a guy I knew called Robert Ewing who came in and supported me very well.”
“Then I worked with a chap called Alistair Taylor and more or less trusted in him from what I had known about him from years gone by.” He added: “Another huge challenge facing us was the goalmouth in front of the South Stand, which is far and away the tallest stand in the stadium, so faces problems when it comes to getting sunlight.”
“I got a great favour off a man called Andrew Robinson who I had known for years as the managing director of Rigby Taylor, but had now started working for TLS Lighting. He gave me a lighting rig to help germinate the goalmouth, which was a godsend.”
And Andrew could see the huge benefits it brought Paul and Motherwell Football Club. "When I first visited Motherwell FC, the pitch had had its first
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