Charlton Athletic boss Dean Holden on ‘difficult’ Valley playing surface

Charlton Athletic manager Dean Holden has described The Valley playing surface as “difficult”.

The Addicks won 4-1 at Morecambe on Tuesday night and are back on the road again this weekend as they head to League One strugglers Cambridge United.

The Valley pitch is looking very patchy and a flock of pigeons were feeding and settling on it during Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Accrington Stanley.

“The first thing is that I’ve got to be careful talking about this, because it can look like you are making excuses – certainly when you’ve had a few games without a win,” said Holden, speaking before Tuesday’s emphatic victory at Morecambe. “Number one is that it (the pitch) is not an excuse.

“The facts are that it is a difficult surface. It does put a sort of doubt in a player’s mind if they are going to make a first-time pass.

“It’s frustrating for everybody. I spoke in detail with the groundsman and the guys behind the scenes at the club, in terms of getting it right and improving it for next year. There are some big improvements planned, not just for The Valley, but the training ground as well.

“Clearly that needs to improve and it will help in the way we want to play. But it is what it is at the minute. The message to the players is that in any situation, like with some of the weather we’ve had since I’ve been at the club (affecting their plans to train at Calmont Road), we find a way of adapting and we get on with whatever is put in front of us.

“We’ve got to be careful we’re not making it into a self-fulfilling prophecy and a bigger thing than it is. It’s not an ideal surface but we make the best of it.”

PICTURE: PAUL EDWARDS