MANY times we have discussed in this column the unsung heroes who are the lifeblood of football clubs, the blokes behind the scenes whose dedication and unfaltering industry keep it all ticking over.

It is a sure fire bet that the vast majority of players at any club will have absolutely no idea how much time and effort is put in by the band of very few who run the show.

Their efforts largely go unrecognised and that is particularly so in the case of the club groundsman. Players turn up on a Saturday afternoon and it will never cross their minds that the ruddy-faced chap in the wellington boots has been there preparing the pitch since well before they got out of bed.

At every club you will regularly hear: "It hasn't been forked", "it hasn't been rolled, cut, marked out" but you will hardly ever hear: "it has been forked, rolled, cut etc".

Now the Football Association has created a series of "Groundsman of the Year" awards which will officially recognise the unstinting efforts of these football "saints". Category one is for Nationwide Conference and two for the level three club members of the non-league pyramid. Nominations for these two sections are to be administered by the respective leagues.

Two further categories cover level three and below clubs which have enclosed grounds plus a special award for local authorities. These latter two are to be co-ordinated by the relevant county association who will sift through nominations and select their first, second and third for each category with trophies and awards for those selected. Winners names will submitted into the next stage up which is a regional competition to be judged by a panel of local experts. Again there will be awards for the top three in each region.

On then to the top tier which is the national awards. An independent panel of judges will visit each ground of the five regional club and local authority winners to identify their top three in each category. The 'Groundman Oscars' ceremony will be held next September at the SALTEX Exhibition organised by the Institute of Groundsmanship at Windsor Racecourse. All finalists, their partners and representatives of the appropriate counties will be invited to attend this lunch when the secrecy will end and the ultimate winners in all four categories will be revealed.

Undoubtedly there are many candidates for our region who have to contend with extremes of climate, terrain and lack of facilities. Backing that up is that when we ran the Bolton Wanderers Goldline Outstanding Achievers Award three winners in two seasons were club groundsmen. Nominations should be sent to Jim Kenyon, Company Secretary, Lancashire FA, County Ground, Leyland, Preston, PR25 2LF.