Why Chesterfield's pitch has been in poor condition this season

Many Town fans and opposition managers have commented on the pitch’s low quality, with Notts County boss Ian Burchnall saying it was the ‘worst’ they have played on all season.

The surface has been particularly bad just in front of the West Stand and in the penalty area near the Kop.

The pitch has improved in recent weeks but it is unlikely to significantly change until the summer.

One supporter asked the question why it was so bad at last week’s AGM.

In response, Goodwin said: “I think to start with it is because of the number of games that have been played on there. We inherited from the previous regime a contract that they signed for three years with Sheffield United for their ladies’ team and under-23s to play on it and I think this year there has been something like a hundred games played on the surface.

"It is the worse I have ever seen it, we will rectify it this summer, and we won’t have those contracts in future. The trust never signed those."

That issue was already known to the majority of fans, but Goodwin also gave another reason which not everyone will have been aware of.

He added: "And to make matters worse our previous manager would not use the training ground and would train on the pitch here at least twice a week, if not three times, despite us saying that it can’t stand it.”