Confirmation that the club's groundstaff have been highly commended by the EFL for their hard work this season at Macron Stadium
Bolton Wanderers have been highly commended for the quality of the club’s pitch throughout the duration of the 2016/17 Sky Bet League One season by the EFL.
The club’s grounds team, headed up by Chris Simm, consists of Nick Regan, Tom Charnley, Nathan Brierley, Zac Gouldthorpe, John Walsh, Niall Hazlehurst and Jason Miller.
Although missing out on the winning accolade to Sheffield United however, Wanderers have been highly commended for their efforts alongside Charlton Athletic.
The awards recognise the importance of the quality of pitches for professional football and acknowledge the clubs and their ground staff who consistently produce the best playing surfaces in the EFL.
Speaking regarding the commendation, Chris Simm – the Whites’ head groundsman – said, “We’re very pleased to have received this kind of recognition from the English Football League for our efforts this season.
“We have had a lot of football played at Macron Stadium this season, but we’ve got a great team here who have worked tirelessly to maintain a high standard of playing surface.
“We all put a lot of long hours into making sure that the surface is at the highest level of quality possible and it’s great to be given a commendation such as this.”
The complete lists of winners and commendations across the EFL is as follows:
Sky Bet Championship
Winner: Aston Villa
Highly Commended: Derby County
Highly Commended: Newcastle United
Sky Bet League One
Winner: Sheffield United
Highly Commended: Bolton Wanderers
Highly Commended: Charlton Athletic
Sky Bet League Two
Winner: Carlisle United
Highly Commended: Doncaster Rovers
Highly Commended: Plymouth Argyle
Highly Commended: Portsmouth
The EFL's Grounds Team of the Season Awards are determined initially using marks from referees and away managers for each Sky Bet EFL game and are then followed by detailed pitch inspections and a review of management operations.
These visits were carried out by Dr Stephen Baker, Head of Sports Surface Technology at the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI).