Rangers visit Dundee on Wednesday live on Sky Sports in a rearranged fixture; a second pitch inspection is due at 3.30pm due to heavy rain forecast in the area on the afternoon of the game; Dundee's contingency plan would be to play it on April 16/17 if this game is called off
Wednesday 10 April 2024 15:31, UK
Dundee's rearranged Scottish Premiership match at home to Rangers will undergo a second pitch inspection at 3.30pm.
There was an initial check just before 11am by match referee Don Robertson who declared the Dens Park surface was playable. However, with heavy rain expected in the area later in the afternoon, another inspection will be required.
The areas of concern remained under heavy covers on Tuesday and have been protected again following the initial check.
Heavy rain caused the original game to be postponed on March 17, less than two hours before kick-off.
Meanwhile, Dundee's game at home to Motherwell last Saturday only went ahead after a third pitch inspection two hours before kick-off.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, referee Robertson said: "The pitch is playable at the moment. I was asked by the league to come up this morning for the inspection. There's been some issues with the pitch recently so they wanted to come up and have an early sight of the pitch.
"I'm comfortable that the pitch is playable and safe for the players [at the moment] in all areas of the pitch, even parts where there were concerns a few weeks ago.
"All I can judge it on is how I see the pitch just now, but some areas are already quite wet. Should the forecast be correct and there is heavy rain, those areas will become more of a concern to us.
"But forecast are forecasts, they're sometimes wrong. If it's dry this afternoon, the rain goes off, the pitch is playable just now then it should be playable this evening but we're in the lap of the Gods."
Following this fixture the clubs have one remaining match left before the league table splits into a top and bottom six, with Dundee in a three-way battle for that sixth and final spot.
However, if this game does not go ahead, it could cause a real headache to league organisers.
Dundee visit Aberdeen next on Saturday while their challengers for sixth spot - Hibernian and Motherwell - face each other also at 3pm. A win for Dundee at Pittodrie would seal sixth place, regardless of what happens elsewhere.
However, were Dundee to draw or lose against the Dons, Hibernian or Motherwell could leapfrog them meaning who finishes sixth would rest on a rearranged match against Rangers.
If the game is off Dundee managing director John Nelms told Sky Sports News he wants it replayed on April 16/17 and would not entertain a contingency plan of moving to another ground or new date this week.
Dundee have no fixture that week, while Rangers face Hearts on April 21 in their Scottish Cup semi-final.
"We've done everything we can do to get the water draining out of the pitch," he told Sky Sports News on Tuesday. "We did that before Saturday's game but once again it was a timing issue. We got that game on and the pitch didn't look pretty but it played well. It was safe under foot and the ball rolled and bounced the way it should do.
"The covers are on and we have heavier covers on the areas that caused a little bit of an issue. The plan is to keep those covers on, continue the work the groundsmen have been doing and we'll see what happens in the next 24 hours.
"Luckily we don't play the split until the 27th [of April] so we still have the 16th and 17th of next week, which I've been looking at a lot of weather reports for - and it's supposed to be dry for the four days prior to those days so you would think that would be the logical move.
"We want to play with our fans and their fans. That's the reason we do this - we're an entertainment business and it needs to be entertaining for the fans. That's the foremost point of this whole thing so there are no other contingency plans from our side other than the 16th and 17th.
"Right now the idea is the game is on, and if the game's not on we'll have a contingency plan that will be put forward to us at that point in time."
Rangers travelled to Dundee on Tuesday with coach Alex Rae at the pitch inspection.
Gers boss Philippe Clement wanted an early decision on the condition of the pitch, however, will now need to wait until Wednesday afternoon.
He told Sky Sports News on Tuesday: "We need to stay outside of that, but it's difficult because you want to prepare well with your team.
"We will travel to Dundee again, be in a hotel this evening and tomorrow all day and there's a doubt that we can play a game.
"It's a weird thing because this is a top league and I don't know any top league anywhere else in Europe in the last 20 years that this can happen.
"Your preparation is difficult because you don't know if the game can go on and you don't even know what is the alternative.
"As a manager I would like to have a solution today [Tuesday] and a decision today so at least you can make plans and you can prepare your team.
"If the game is postponed tomorrow [Wednesday] we lose one day that we cannot train with the players and we don't know yet what the alternative can be.
"I think that's a decision to be made by the SPFL, they're making the schedule but if they speak about next week then for sure it can't be in Dundee because no one knows what the weather will be next week."
Dundee manager Tony Docherty told Sky Sports News he was not thinking about a potential postponement.
"I've got in my head, and the players have got in their head, that the game is on so we prepare accordingly for that until someone tells me otherwise," he said.
"We're training on a training pitch that's quite similar in terms of it's wet. We've had ridiculous weather up here, it's been torrential.
"My job is to prepare the team accordingly and we're just getting ready for what's going to be a good game on Wednesday night."
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