New surface, no slope and under-soil heating - inside Sheffield United's training pitch plans

Paul Heckingbottom is waiting for the green light on plans to improve the first team training pitch at the Randox Health Academy, which he believes has played a big part in the club's injury crisis this season. A plan to change 'everything' about its current form has been agreed but must get final approval from the powers that be.

On a slope, it turned into a bog after a couple of days of heavy rain in December. Problems with drainage meant there were still occasions four months later when his Sheffield United players were unable to train on it the day before a match.

That has meant last-minute changes to the training schedule, with sessions taking place on a mixture of surfaces ranging from a bog, to Astroturf and the firm pitch at Bramall Lane. With Heckingbottom and his players having to navigate their way through a Championship fixture list that was made even more demanding due to a spate of cancelations at Christmas, the training load on the players is a contributing factor to the number of injuries.

Currently having to guess at what's best for the players, Heckingbottom believes correcting the surface at their Shirecliffe base will allow a consistent training programme to be delivered, regardless of the weather, therefore avoiding a repeat of the fitness issues.

"It's everything," he explained when describing the work he hopes will get done. "Plan is to take away the slope, put in a new surface, new drainage, new irrigation and under-soil heating.

"We want to put a surface in there that is suited to us as a club and where we want to be. As far as I am aware we are getting it done, it has to.

"If anyone saw the training pitch from December to March there were days where we couldn't go on it. We need it. It is