Dundee v Rangers: Dens Park pitch passes inspection

Rangers' director of football operations Creag Robertson inspected the pitch after the game was called off last Wednesday

Dens Park has passed a pitch inspection and is set to stage Dundee's game against Rangers on Wednesday.

St Johnstone's McDiarmid Park was on standby for the Scottish Premiership game if Dens Park was unplayable or if the forecast suggested it could be.

But the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) says its contingency plans "will no longer be required".

Rangers accused Dundee of "negligence" when last week's game was postponed for a second time over a waterlogged pitch.

The initial game was called off last month 90 minutes before kick-off.

"On the basis of the weather forecasts and following discussions with the SPFL's pitch consultants, no further inspection is planned," said a SPFL statement.

Only light showers are forecast for Tayside in the lead up to the game and sunshine is expected at kick-off on Wednesday.

Rangers manager Philippe Clement says he will be relieved to finally get the match played at the third time of asking.

"The people who decide are sure there will be a game tomorrow so that's a very positive thing," he said.

"I think everybody knows about taking this decision - how it was processed - that the people who decided to play at Dens Park, are 200% sure we're going to play there.

"They know the weather forecast and they're certain that the pitch will cope with that.

"It's good for us to know where we will play and how we can prepare. I think everybody - people from Dundee, people from Rangers - are happy that finally we can play this game."

The SPFL, which is eager for the game to be played before the post-split fixtures begin despite Dundee clinching a place in the top six on Saturday, appointed a consultancy firm regularly used by Uefa to guide them on the condition of the pitch.

Dundee have been providing the consultants, the SPFL and Rangers with daily updates on the playing surface and the match official assessed its state on Tuesday morning.

Last week's postponement was the fifth game to be called off at Dens Park following heavy rain this season.

"We are delighted the pitch has passed the inspection. We would like to thank St Johnstone for their support and for offering McDiarmid Park as a potential venue if we needed it," said a Dundee statement.

The Dens Park surface passed an inspection at 11:00 BST last Wednesday but heavy rainfall rendered it unplayable after another check at 15:30.

Dundee said supporters, staff and contractors had worked all week in an attempt to make the pitch fit for play, but that one area of the surface was deemed unplayable because of heavy rain on Wednesday afternoon.

"The negligence and unprofessionalism demonstrated by Dundee Football Club, where they have repeatedly breached SPFL rules, continues to have a damaging effect on the top professional league in the country," Rangers said in a statement after the game was called off.

The Ibrox club were also "extremely disappointed and angered" by the late call-off after a second pitch inspection of the original game in March.

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