FOLLOWING Saturday's postponement between Watford and Swansea City at Vicarage Road, due to an under-soil heating malfunction and the freezing temperatures in Hertfordshire, the club would like to update supporters ahead of tomorrow's (Tuesday) game with Sheffield United.
In response to overnight forecasts of sub zero temperatures on Friday (29 January) the club's under-soil heating was switched on at 10.00am.
The system takes several hours to reach maximum working temperature and was fully functional at 6.00pm on Friday evening.
Groundstaff found the system had shut down overnight and the pitch was frozen when they arrived at Vicarage Road early on Saturday morning (30 January).
Attempts were made to re-start the system in consultation with the system's maintenance contractors, however these were unsuccessful.
An examination of the system, coupled with the depth of frost on the pitch suggested that the shut down had occurred around midnight.
Fault diagnosis indicated that replacement parts would be required and as these are not stock items, they could not be sourced until today (Monday).
The match referee, Trevor Kettle, and coaching staff of both teams were immediately informed of the situation and asked to attend the stadium.
On arrival, Mr Kettle inspected the pitch and determined it was unplayable, as one third of the pitch would remain in permanent shadow, and with a wind-chill factor of zero, there was no possibility of this part of the pitch thawing sufficiently to enable the game to take place.
His decision to postpone was accepted and supported by both clubs. News of the postponement was then circulated to the media.
The club's under-soil heating was in place and working during the recent snow conditions in December and January.
Chief Executive Officer Julian Winter said: "It is extremely disappointing and frustrating for everyone concerned that this match was postponed.
"We are determined that tomorrow's match v Sheffield United goes ahead and are doing all we can to achieve this.
"I know Malky Mackay and all the players were looking forward to playing at Vicarage Road for the first time in 2010 and I'm sure supporters would like to have welcomed our three new signings to the club."
Contractors will be at Vicarage Road this morning (Monday) to repair the under-soil heating system.
If this isn't successful the club has put together a contingency plan to hire equipment to make the pitch playable.
The club would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused, but would like to reassure supporters that everything is being done to ensure the pitch is playable and safe.
, don't want another Leyton Orient !
