New season, new surface

Officially the best surface in the Barclays Premier League, work is well underway on the Liberty Stadium pitch as the grounds team prepares for their biggest challenge yet.
With work starting on the new pitch just 24 hours after the last game of the season against Fulham, Head Groundsman Dan Duffy and his team have been working around the clock to ensure their high standards are maintained for the 2013-14 campaign.
Named Premier League Groundsman of the Year recently, Duffy is tasked with delivering a top-quality surface for both the Swans and Ospreys.
And, with the added responsibilities of the Europa League next season, he is expecting his toughest campaign yet.



But Duffy, along with his team of Dan Kirton, Ben Arthure, James Williams and Evan Davies, is relishing the possibility of a busier schedule next term.
"Next season is going to be a massive challenge for us," said Duffy. "With the possibility of the Swans making the group stages, it means there could be a lot more games being held here.
"Also, in the Europa League, we have to allow the opposition to train on the pitch, which obviously has an effect.
"So you have to start as early as you can in order to give yourself as much time as possible. That meant we were working on it the day after the Fulham match.
"We immediately ripped up the surface - as we do every year - which then allows us to push on with the rest of the process.
"A lot of progress has been made already as we work towards ensuring this pitch is not only ready for the new season, but that we also have an excellent surface which is suitable to the club's style of play."
The DESSO pitch, a natural grass mat reinforced by injecting artificial turf fibres which ensures the roots of the natural grass intertwine with the synthetic fibres, is also used by fellow Premier League clubs Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.