Colchester United will keep pitch dimensions as they are

The U’s reduced the dimensions of the JobServe Community Stadium surface last March in the wake of several postponements, due to waterlogging following heavy rain.

The new dimensions, which saw the pitch reduced to 64 metres wide and 102 metres long, removed the majority of the problem areas and following extensive summer work to improve the surface, the club have decided to keep the same dimensions.

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Speaking at the club’s annual Open Day, chairman Robbie Cowling said: “When we got to the end of the season, we basically asked the manager (Danny Cowley) what size pitch he would want to play on.

“He quite liked the way it was at the end of the season, so Danny was favourable to having that size pitch.

“We all know the history of this pitch and its drainage and having that is definitely going to help us, in this current year; whether we change it again going forward, I’m not sure.

“I think it’s quite consistent with the size of the pitches we’ve got at the training ground as well.”

(Image: NEWSQUEST)

Colchester head coach Danny Cowley believes the tighter pitch will suit the way he wants his new-look team to play, this season.

“When you’re the home team, you always want a unique pitch whether that’s a really long pitch, a wide pitch or a tight pitch,” he told fans at the club’s Open Day.

“If your pitch dimensions are unique, then that should give you an advantage as a team.

“We like to defend really early and press really aggressively so it makes sense I think to keep the pitch tight and hopefully, we’ll be able to win the ball high up the pitch and then turn those moments into goalscoring opportunities.

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“The game idea is to try to dominate the ball in the attacking half, so I think the pitch dimensions will help us and also, when the pitches are slightly tighter and narrower, the chances of scoring from set pieces are higher as well.

“All of these factors were considered.

“When we had the pitch challenges last year, it just made sense to keep the pitch dimensions as they were.

“The groundstaff have worked really, really hard over the summer and done lots and lots of work to improve the drainage, so we’re really optimistic that the pitch is going to hold up.

(Image: STEVE BRADING)

“I think this is going to be so helpful to us.

“At the end of last season, we had to play ten games in the last 31 days and it’s so tough for the players to be able to perform at the consistent level we want them to.

“Hopefully this year, the games will be spread out much more across the season and ultimately, this will only help us moving forward.”