Weather Ruins It For Mcghee

Mar 2 2008 By Gordon Waddell

MOTHERWELL boss Mark McGhee last night threw his weight behind the campaign to bring summer football to Scotland.

The Fir Park side have suffered more than most with the winter weather wrecking their already patchy pitch and leaving them with a backlog.

But like pal Gordon Strachan, McGhee is as concerned about the effect the constant rain is having on his ability to coach as he is about how it will impact on his club's SPL chances.

He said: "We're missing our edge because we've not been training properly.

"Maybe we have to consider a summer season because it's not just about the matches - it's about training and being able to prepare youngsters to play.

"It's okay if you're Rangers and Celtic with the top facilities but we don't have them nor do most clubs down through the divisions.

"On Friday we had to go indoors on to an astroturf surface at Hamilton at short notice and I don't like that - I always worry about injuries.

"So it's time to have a look at summer football.

"They do it in other countries such as Sweden and Norway and they seem to do well in European Championships while Rosenborg are always in the Champions League.

"So I think it can be done."