Crawley Town managing director Steve Duly insisted the club are working closely with its council landlords on sorting out the Broadfield Stadium pitch this summer.

Fans could not believe the state of the playing surface this week, which has gradually got worse as a succession of league matches have been played there in recent days.

But Duly is adamant the council should not be put into the firing line for the lack of drainage at the ground.

He said: "The weather has of course been bad this winter and the drainage has been a problem, but we are in discussions with the council and no-one is to blame for the problem."

The council were said to be unhappy when chief executive John Duly criticised the playing surface in Monday's Argus, but many fans feel that for the amount of money Reds pay for playing at the Broadfield Stadium the drainage should not be a problem.

Steve Williams, who lives in Crawley Down, has been supporting the club for 20 years. He was horrified by what he saw last Saturday when Reds slipped to a 2-1 defeat against Bath.

He said: "I've never seen a stadium with such impressive facilities have such a dire pitch. We're always told how expensive it is for the club to play there, because of rent and stewarding costs. Decent drainage should not be a problem."

Club and council officials were reluctant to comment further on the problems and are planning to release a joint statement soon.

Reds boss Billy Smith is understandably concerned about the effect playing so many games on a heavy pitch will have on his players.

He said: "The mud is ankle deep and running around on that for 90 minutes is no fun. We can only concentrate on trying to get the best results for the club. We are in a two-legged cup final and that has now got to be our priority."

Reds travel to Worcester on Thursday for the first leg.

Richard Kennedy, who was signed from Brentford on-loan, has left the club and joined League of Wales title-chasers Barry Town.

Meanwhile, Langney Sports coach Nick Greenwood has paid tribute to striker Clinton More following his hot streak in front of goal.

More had scored eight goals in the three games prior to the visit of Witney Town on Thursday and Greenwood is hoping the rich form will long continue as his side target a top ten finish to their first season in the Dr Martens Eastern Division.

Greenwood said: "Clinton has had an up and down season. He had an ankle injury, was sent off against Lewes and got hurt at work.

"He has worked really hard to get fit and we couldn't have wished for a better response once he has been given his chance."

An injury to fellow striker Matt Allen opened the door for More, who has made almost all his previous appearances this season from the subs' bench. More scored twice as a substitute against Corby, and followed that with four goals in the win over Erith and two in the 4-0 triumph over Sittingbourne this week.