Saints have plans in place to beat the big freeze

Feb 26 2010 by Paul Behan, Paisley Daily Express

ST MIRREN bosses last night vowed they wont be caught cold by the wintry weather as they pull out all the stops to make sure this weekends SPL showdown with Hamilton Accies goes ahead.

Paisley was left shivering in arctic conditions yesterday as heavy snow fell and the big freeze gripped the town.

But Brian Caldwell, St Mirrens general manager, has revealed the undersoil heating system at the stadium in Greenhill Road has been on since Monday to keep the pitch nice and toasty.

And he is confident tomorrows game will go ahead as planned.

Caldwell met with officers from Strathclyde Police, as well as stewards, at a pre-match safety meeting yesterday to discuss their action plan for beating the big freeze.

He told Express Sports: Were actually getting quite used to this situation because of the bad weather we had back in January, so were well prepared.

We spoke to the police and stewards at our normal meeting and we all know precisely what we have to do.

Our undersoil heating system has been on since Monday and the pitch is fine.

What well be doing next is to look at any possible problem areas and clear any snow away so that the immediate proximity of the stadium can be accessed by the supporters.

Weve carried out these operations a number of times before, so at least we have that experience to fall back on.

An SPL fixture between St Mirren and Hamilton had to be postponed earlier this season due to wintry weather. That clash had been scheduled to take place at New Douglas Park on Wednesday, December 30, but has now been pencilled in for Saturday, March 13.

The SPL match between the Buddies and Aberdeen that was supposed to take place at St Mirren Park on Boxing Day was also postponed because of the big freeze.

But Caldwell insists everything possible will be done to make sure that tomorrows game goes ahead as planned as Saints bid to secure all three points and climb away from the relegation zone.

He said: Well continue to monitor the weather but, as things stand, the temperature on Saturday is supposed to climb to five degrees Celsius.

What were really needing is a bit of rain to clear away some of the snow.

We are certainly doing everything we can at this end to make sure the game goes ahead.