POSITION: Head Groundsman

WHAT DOES YOUR JOB ENTAIL? Overseeing the maintenance of all the playing surfaces used by the club, i.e. at the Reebok Stadium and the ones at our training ground in Euxton.

PREVIOUS CLUB/JOBS? After leaving school I joined the RAF regiment. I then worked for Hull City Council as a groundsman before moving to Manchester to work for a landscape company looking after pitches. I also worked at the Manchester Rugby Union Club for a number of years as Head Groundsman before I moved to Burnden Park and then on to the Reebok Stadium.

EXPERIENCE IN THE JOB? I studied at Myerscough Horticultural College in Lancashire. It was a one-year intensive course called 'Groundsmanship and Green-keeping'.

WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO BOLTON WANDERERS? Working for a professional football club was highly attractive. It puts you in a higher profile and is much more challenging due to the demands of a quality playing surface.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED FOR WANDERERS? 11 years

IN WHAT WAYS, IF ANY, HAS YOUR JOB CHANGED? With the move to the Reebok Stadium, the job has become much higher in profile and, now that we've attained promotion to the Premier League, the pressures have become greater. More television coverage means the club will be in the spotlight more, so we have to make sure that the pitch matches the impressive stadium.

THE HIGH POINTS AND LOW POINTS DURING YOUR CAREER WITH THE WANDERERS? The high was being involved in the original planning of the pitch before the Reebok Stadium was built. That was something unique and not many people got to do that. The low was re-turfing during the playing season. Removing the pitch and then relaying a new one in such a short space of time put my staff under a lot of pressure, but we managed to succeed.

ANY FUNNY MOMENTS THAT STAND OUT? We were live on SKY TV once and Tony Kelly was running through the tunnel after the half-time break. As he came on to the pitch he jumped on to my back and the commentator said -- "Don't worry! That's not a supporter on the pitch, it's the Groundsman!"

DOES YOUR JOB/WORKLOAD CHANGE DURING THE SUMMER WHEN THERE IS NO FOOTBALL? During the summer, my job gets more intense. Especially this season where we've not only had to relay the turf here at the Reebok but also at Euxton, and everything has to be ready for when the players come back training.

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES BEING IN THE PREMIERSHIP MEAN TO YOU IN YOUR DEPARTMENT? The pressures are greater because we feature more in the public gaze, however, other than that, there's not much difference. Whatever division the football club is in we still have to provide a quality playing surface.

OTHER COMMENTS ABOUT YOUR JOB, CLUB OR TEAM? It's quite frustrating when football pundits comment about the state of the playing surface. To be honest, they generally don't know what they are talking about and shouldn't really interfere.