STUART Lambert is relishing the challenge ahead now Worcester City's players are dusting down the flip-flops for their summer holidays.

Groundsman Lambert has the unenviable task of transforming the St George's Lane pitch into tip-top condition for next season.

As previous City turf-tenders will concur, sustaining the pitch's quality throughout a nine-month campaign is a mammoth task considering its heavy-duty usage.

Last term, 102 games took place at the Lane, including first-team, reserve, youth and ladies games, high school duels and Worcestershire FA fixtures. Further wear and tear comes with twice-weekly training and academy sessions.

And there is no respite for battered grass when the final whistle sounds. A significant feature of professionalism since Andy Preece and Andy Morrison waltzed into town has been the post-match warm-down.

Players used to trot out for a simple, limbering jog. Now, assistant Morrison puts the team through gruelling routines before they hit the showers.

All very necessary to enhance and sustain players' fitness levels, but it adds further strain to an already fragile surface.

"They warm up for an hour and 20 minutes before the start of every game," explains Lambert. "Then through half-time for 15 minutes. After the game, they are still on the pitch for another hour and 20 minutes.

"It's like there is three games each time they play!

"It doesn't matter if the players get in my way after games, I just get on there! But there was one problem when I couldn't water the pitch when they were using the showers.

"There's been 102 games this season, which is a heck of a lot.

"It makes it a lot harder for me, but it was tougher for (previous groundsman) Richard Bush over the years because he was doing it part-time."

At the end of the season, Preece often complained of City's eroding pitch and hoped for a spick 'n' span surface come August.

But the problem may rear its ugly head next season if Evesham United take up the offer of hosting their final 10 'home' fixtures at City's headquarters.

To ease the burden, Worcester's Midland Combination Reserve team are preparing to leave for an alternative venue.

Extensive work has now undergone to produce a healthier look. Firstly, contractors regularly used by Premiership club Birmingham have aerated the pitch.

Then came the process of re-seeding, with 15 bags of grass-seed bags, 13 bags of fertiliser and 80 tonnes of sandsoil rootzone applied in sequence.

Lambert, a former Worcestershire CCC groundsman, said: "Now it's just a case of watering it over the course of pre-season. I will probably be cutting it in the next couple of weeks.

"The first thing I said when I started last year was that it's going to be a challenge. It's a bit different from working at the cricket club.

Lambert, 22, added: "I've told director Derek Jones and chairman Dave Boddy that the pitch will be a lot better this season.

"It could possibly be the best Worcester City fans have ever seen it."