Dundee move cup games to protect new pitch

Dundee have installed a new pitch after waterlogging problems last term

Dundee are to play Premier Sports Cup home matches at Glebe Park, Brechin, to allow their new pitch additional time to bed in.

The club say they have "invested heavily" in a new playing surface and drainage system following a series of postponements due to waterlogging last season.

After admitting to five breaches of Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) rules, they lost an appeal against a £66,000 fine, with a further £120,000 suspended until the end of the coming campaign.

Dundee say the pitch is "progressing well" but want to give it "as much time as possible".

Annan Athletic will therefore visit Glebe Park on 23 July, with Inverness Caledonian Thistle arriving four days later.

Dundee B will also play their SPFL Trust Trophy first round match against Formartine United at the same venue on 30 July.

"Moving the two home games gives us another 18 days to have the pitch in optimum condition for the start of the league campaign," head groundsman Paul Murray told the club website.