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FOOTBALL/RUGBY Getting Personal


Niall Hazlehurst - Formula 1 addict who likes a wind instrument


Who are you? Niall Hazlehurst, Head


Groundsman, Rochdale AFC.


Family status: Married with a little boy.


Who’s your hero and why? Lewis Hamilton. I love Formula 1.


What would you change about yourself? To try and switch off from work.


What’s your guilty pleasure? Stella Artois.


What’s been the


highlight of your career so far? Becoming Head Groundsman at Rochdale AFC.


What are your pet peeves? People cutting across the pitch.


If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be? Australia.


What’s the best part of your job? Saturday afternoon when everything is set up for game.


… and the worst? Divoting.


Do you have a lifetime ambition? To be a Premier League Head Groundsman.


Favourite record, and why? Wonder Wall, Oasis.


Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? Cameron Diaz.


If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Buy a Ferrari or Lamborghini.


If you were to describe yourself as a musical instrument, what would you be and why? A trumpet as I never stop farting lol.


Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? David Beckham, Gazza and Vinny Jones.


If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be and why? I would love to live a day in Donald Trump’s shoes.


Do you have any bad habits? Snoring.


... or any good ones? No.


Do you go to bed worrying about the next day’s workload? Yes.


What are you reading at the moment? Pitchcare.


What’s the best advice you have ever been given? Keep it simple.


What’s your favourite smell? Freshly cut grass.


What do you do in your spare time? Chase my little lad around.


What’s the daftest work related question you have ever been asked? How do you get the different colour greens in the grass?


What’s your favourite piece of kit? Pedestrian sprayer, as it’s just been delivered.


What three words would you use to describe yourself? Sociable, hard- working and honest.


What talent would you like to have? Professional footballer.


What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? A law so groundsmen dictate where all warm-ups take place, and that the rules are actually adhered to.


92 PC December/January 2019


warm up areas, and if Niall felt they will give him an advantage in keeping some grass cover going into the winter? “Those lighting rigs are a godsend and, as soon as a game finishes, we place them in the goalmouths. We do currently have them situated under the main stand as we are trying to work them up and down the wing to help give the surface the best chance through the winter.” “We are also looking at getting two smaller ones as I feel the more we have, the better. but it’s just having the budget to make the purchase.”


Rochdale (as with most places in the north) can see some


heavy frost and snow in winter and I asked Niall what provisions he had in place to cope with these conditions; for example, undersoil heating, or does he have to work with frost covers? “We have no undersoil heating, but we do have Stuart Canvas frost covers on inflatable rollers. I’m yet to see a winter here in Rochdale so I will have to see how it goes … fingers crossed, the winter will be good to me.”


As well as football being played on the pitch, Niall also has to deal with the stresses of having Rochdale Hornets Rugby League Football Club using the Spotland pitch. The


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