Steven Ferguson says Ross County acted as quickly as possible to ensure an early postponement of Saturday’s match against Hibernian.
The Staggies’ final Premiership fixture before Christmas fell foul of the weather, after failing a 10am pitch inspection on Saturday morning due to a waterlogged pitch.
County had staff at the ground from 7am, at which point they initiated contact with the SPFL as a result of the heavy overnight rain.
After match referee Iain Snedden was sent to the ground for a 10am inspection, the pitch was deemed unplayable.
Staggies chief executive Ferguson insists the club did all they could to minimise the disruption to travelling supporters.
Staggies were on the ground from 7am
He said: “With the torrential rain through the night, we phoned the SPFL first thing in the morning and the pitch inspection was set for 10am.
“We were here at 7am and we contacted the SPFL first thing. We asked for a pitch inspection first thing in the morning. It was still dark.
“If they wanted to come at 7am, they could have. It was the match referee who was sent to do it and he did so at 10am.
“That’s what time the authorities said they would get a referee along.
“Hibs had travelled up here the day before, so obviously they, like us, wanted every opportunity for the game to go ahead.
“Hibs, having travelled up, were kept well aware and were here for the pitch inspection.
“The SPFL gave us the time for the pitch inspection. The SPFL need to get in touch with the SFA who run the referees’ side and 10am was the time we were given.
“But we had contacted them first thing in the morning to say there was a doubt about the pitch.
“The referee came and did the pitch inspection.
“There was very little else we could do.”
Correct decision was made to postpone fixture
Saturday’s postponement is already the fourth occasion this season in which the Staggies have suffered a call-off on the morning of a game.
Derek Adams’ men will now turn their focus to Wednesday’s game against Rangers at Ibrox.
Ferguson is in no doubt the correct decision was made, adding: “Two-thirds of the pitch was OK, but the goalmouths were unplayable.
“The pitch was very much unplayable by 10.30am and the rain was forecast to continue for the next six or seven hours.
“It was the correct decision.
“Listen, we’ve experienced it at Dundee and Livingston already this season. We know how it works and we follow the same process as everybody else.”
Ferguson also confirmed County had been due to have 300 people eating in their hospitality lounges prior to the match, with the meals having been sent to local charities and good causes following the call off.
Following the news that our game versus Hibernian was postponed, we took the decision to work with our caterers Red Poppy to deliver over 300 meals due to be served in our corporate suites to the local community.
Dingwall Community Centre and the Capstone Centre in Alness were… pic.twitter.com/cODB6CzRBU
— Ross County FC (@RossCounty) December 23, 2023
‘These things happen’ says Hibs boss Montgomery
Hibernian’s squad was already in the Highlands, having travelled north on Friday, however manager Nick Montgomery was understanding of the situation.
Montgomery said: “We had our breakfast and knew the rain had been pretty heavy through the night. Then we got a notification that the referee was going to go and inspect the pitch at 10am.
“To be honest, it already sounded like there was a bit of water in one of the goalmouths, which was an issue. Around 9.30am, we heard about the pitch inspection.
“Obviously it’s disappointing because you do the preparation, the travel and the overnight stay. But that’s out of our control. These things happen. As much as we’re disappointed about it, these things happen.
“We go back now and train on Sunday, and adapt the session a little bit. But the boys are really disappointed because they were ready for the game.
“Playing the game on a heavy pitch, you never know what the outcome would have been. The boys want to play games, they wanted to get it done, but they should be fresh.
“We do have a small squad, we still have quite a thin squad. So we prepare as well as we can.”
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