New Hampden pitch in time for Scottish League Cup final

Celtic will face Dundee United in the Scottish League Cup final

A new pitch will be put down at Hampden Park in time for the Scottish League Cup final and an international match against Gibraltar.

The condition of the surface was criticised after the semi-finals at the Glasgow venue two weeks ago.

Hampden Park Limited managing director Peter Dallas said: "We brought independent sports turf consultants in last week."

Following that, it had been "decided to invest in a new pitch".

Hampden was converted to an athletics stadium for last summer's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

And host club Queen's Park played their home matches at Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie until the new pitch was ready in January.

Hampden Park's pitch cut up badly during the League Cup semi-finals

But consultants concluded "that the current condition of the pitch is a result of a combination of weather, use and the timing of the pitch having to be laid in November".

"They also reported that, taking into consideration weather forecasts and planned use of the surface between now and the final, provision for re-turfing should be considered to ensure the best possible pitch for the League Cup final."

Discussions followed involving the Scottish Professional Football League, which organises the tournament, the Scottish Football Association and Queen's Park, who are scheduled to use the stadium for their remaining League Two fixtures.

"We are putting a schedule of works in place to ensure the pitch will be installed in March prior to the final and Scotland internationals," added Dallas, who had previously issued a statement regretting the condition of the surface.

Celtic face Dundee United in the League Cup final on 15 March, while Scotland host Gibraltar in their European Championship Group D qualifier 14 days later.