Fulham are to replace the pitch at Craven Cottage in the summer because its terrible condition has contributed to a dip in their home form.
The Division One leaders were held to a 1-1 draw by Sheffield United there yesterday and lost their previous home fixture 1-0 to Birmingham. They had won all but one of their home League games before losing to Trevor Francis's side.
The pitch is badly cut up and filled with sand in places and assistant manager Christian Damiano said: "We had two opponents yesterday, Sheffield United and the pitch.
"It is difficult for us to play well when it is in this condition. It was too wet and that makes it difficult to play our rapid, passing style because it makes controlling the ball much harder.
"The pitch condition means we cannot play as fast as we would normally and that makes it harder for us to surprise the opposition." Laying a new pitch at Fulham will be costly and the surface will probably last for only a year if the club get the go-ahead to redevelop the ground.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council will decide later this month whether to approve the club's plans for a £70 million, 30,000-seat stadium on the Craven Cottage site.
But managing director Michael Fiddy said: "We have been planning to put in a new pitch for some time and have to go ahead with it because the state of the surface is important to the way the team play.
"Rebuilding the stadium would mean we would probably have to replace the pitch again when that is finished, but that will not stop us."
Players and managers blaming the state of the pitch for an unsatisfactory result is often an excuse for a poor performance but Fulham have genuine cause for concern. Even Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock said it would be the main hurdle to Fulham doing well against Premiership opponents if they go up and it is not improved.
Source thisislondon by Leo Spall