FIRST team coach Darren Attwood fears that this winter's severe wet weather could finish off clubs like Liversedge.

The pitch at Clayborn failed a mid-afternoon inspection on Tuesday when they hoped to host Clipstone in the Toolstation Northern Counties East Premier Division.

That decision followed hot on the heels of Saturday’s postponement against Armthorpe Welfare which means they haven't played a home game since October 31.

Attwood said, “It’s so frustrating, we have gone 115 days without a home game and it will be 122 before we get another chance to play at Clayborn because we’re away this weekend.

“It isn’t just the fact that you can’t build any momentum on the pitch, that’s difficult enough to cope with, but it’s the financial aspect of it. We need home games to generate revenue and we’re simply not getting any.

“Last Saturday was a perfect example to highlight the plight that the club is facing at this difficult time. We did all of the preparation in terms of the football side of it, getting the squad together and ready for the game.

"The good people that work for the club, the committee and the volunteers behind the scenes, all did what you need to do to get a game on at this level. We’re doing what we can

“But it cost us £100 for the officials, another £300 for food for the players and hospitality for the visiting team’s committee and that was money wasted that would have been better spent on verti-draining the pitch.”

Sedge have games in hand but are currently rock bottom of the table and their fixture backlog is spiralling. They’ll be chasing points but will be under severe pressure as they will face having to play three games per week.

The short term worries, however, are not Attwood’s main concern. He fears for the security and future of the club he serves. He wants the community and local businesses to protect the gem within their midst before it disappears.

Attwood added, “When you look at it this is the premier ground in the area. There is nothing to rival it in Liversedge, Heckmondwike, Cleckheaton or anywhere in the Spenborough area really.

“The playing surface needs a lot of work doing on it so we applied for funding after being pointed in that direction by the FA but we were turned down because they saw us as a one pitch, one club enterprise.

“That doesn’t portray the bigger picture and we feel that it’s unfair. There were 82 games played at the stadium last season and 41 of them were Liversedge games, the rest were youth teams, local clubs and cup finals and semi-finals for various competitions for the County FA and local leagues.

“I think that shows just how much the club is at the heart of the community and just what purpose it serves.”