Motherwell seeking home away from home after another Fir Park call-off

MOTHERWELL chairman John Boyle has revealed he wants the club to quit Fir Park for the next three to four weeks in an attempt to solve the pitch's chronic waterlogging problem.

Boyle expects tenants Gretna to play their match against Celtic in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League next weekend at a different venue, and suggested Livingston's Almondvale or Hamilton's New Douglas Park could be suitable, although it is unlikely either would meet SPL criteria. Motherwell will also have to find alternative venues for their forthcoming home fixtures.

Motherwell had to postpone their own SPL game against Celtic yesterday when an attempt to drain the pitch of water made their problem worse.

Boyle said: "We have a very serious problem and I'm going to address it fundamentally in order that we can get our games on. Fans need certainty, we haven't been giving them this. I am on the case. (Motherwell secretary] Stewart Robertson and myself are talking to (Scottish Premier League secretary] Iain Blair. I think what we are going to have to do is that we're going to have to drastically take some action which will not be able to be done in days.

"And in the light of that, we're going to try to relocate some of our fixtures, so that the fans and especially the away fans have some certainty about the remaining fixtures. This might take three to four weeks to sort out. Every short-term measure we have tried to take clearly hasn't worked and we are hugely embarrassed and absolutely apologetic to the fans."

The confirmation from Boyle that Gretna's fixture against Celtic will almost certainly have to be moved at least means there will be more chance of the game proceeding. That will be a welcome tonic for Gretna who went into administration last week. David Elliot, the administrator, has stressed that the revenue from the fixture is crucial to the club surviving. As well as the gate money generated, the match is due to be televised by Setanta Sports which would also provide a cash filip for Gretna.

Gretna have been groundsharing with Motherwell this season but Boyle refused to accept this as the reason for the poor state of the Fir Park pitch.

"The Gretna situation is not responsible for the state of the pitch," he said. "Clearly our drainage system is inadequate to cope with it."