Motherwell 'deeply concerned for all players' as Dundee match goes ahead
- Published
Referee David Dickinson carries out pitch inspection at Den's Park
Motherwell are "deeply concerned for the welfare of all players" involved in Saturday's Scottish Premiership match at Dundee, which is set to go ahead after passing a third pitch inspection.
Despite heavy rainfall, covers hired from Celtic helped avoid a fifth Dens Park postponement this term.
The final inspection took place just two hours before kick-off after checks on Thursday and Saturday morning.
However, Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell said his club had been told by Dundee earlier in the week there was "no chance" the game would be on.
Another potential call-off could have resulted in a fixture headache for the SPFL, with the Premiership's pre-split games set to conclude next week and Dundee due to play Rangers in a rescheduled match on Wednesday.
"I'll be brutally honest, we're trying to go with fittest group we've got and mitigate any risk of injury as much as I can," Kettlewell told BBC Scotland pre-match.
"The referee thinks there's no risk to player safety - I have to disagree.
"There's been suggestions of contingencies, messages from Dundee saying there's no chance this game would be, so I was half preparing for the condition of the pitch.
"Motherwell want this game to be on, but we played here on 2 August - first game of the season - and I said wait until you see the problems you'll have here over the season, because that game was almost called off.
"What sticks in my throat is that, a couple of years ago, Motherwell realised they had a problem like the one at Dens Park. They spent £1.25m on the pitch and it's been playable all week.
"When you invest that money, it comes out of my player budget. Clubs are able to pay more than us because they don't invest money in their infrastructure or pitch. We can see that that's the case here."
In a statement earlier, Motherwell also thanked their fans for the "dedication and understanding" they have shown.
Dundee, meanwhile, thanked "club staff, contractors and wonderful volunteers who all played their part" in assisting.
Peterhead's trip to Bonnyrigg Rose and Elgin City v Spartans in the fourth tier both go ahead after passing pitch inspections, as does Stirling Albion's League 1 encounter with Alloa Athletic.