WORCESTER City manager Carl Heeley admits the pitch at Aggborough is giving cause for concern following today’s postponement against Guiseley.

Although the Vanarama Conference North match was called off at 8.30am because of a frozen surface, the ground was already waterlogged from heavy rain on Friday.

Landlords Kidderminster Harriers, who spent £50,000 renovating the pitch during the summer, are working to improve the drainage and have brought in specialist equipment for groundsman Gary Birch.

But with 22 matches — 13 for City and nine for Harriers — still due to be played at Aggborough before the end of April, including two in 24 hours this weekend, the pitch has little time to recover.

As well as the Guiseley game, Worcester also have to find new dates for the home fixtures against Hednesford Town, which was abandoned on Boxing Day, and Solihull Moors.

Heeley said: “It is a concern for both clubs and throughout January and probably part of February there’s certainly going to be more rain and we might get some snow and frost.

“You’ve got to question whether we’re going to lose any more games before we can start dealing with the backlog and getting through the fixtures.

“Kidderminster are doing everything possible to try to improve it. It’s getting the water through the top layer of soil.

“It’s very compact and the water sits on the top of it so, with any downpours in a short space of time, the water doesn’t go anywhere.

“After a period of time it does drain through but they’re looking at a number of options at the moment and they have tried a couple of things to try to improve that.”

A Harriers statement said: “The club are now looking at ways to improve the surface from now until the end of the season.

“For example, on Friday, the club used a specialist piece of equipment, which pushes compressed air below the surface of the pitch with the intention of breaking up compacted soil and letting water pass through the drains.

“This is a proven way of relieving compaction in the surface, which helps the water reach the existing drainage.

“The club are currently using these methods to try to keep the pitch playable until the end of the season.

“The process needed to renovate the pitch is too invasive to carry out during the season and so plans for end-of-season renovations are currently under way.”