Coventry City Chief Executive Dave Boddy has provided the following Club Update to supporters:
“It has been a disappointing and frustrating start to the season for our supporters, and we are very sorry to them that this has been the case.
“The pitch work and improvements that were announced today are welcome and will enable us to return to the Coventry Building Society Arena for our game against Preston North End on Wednesday 31st August.
“This situation has been changing over the last few days, and at times it has not been possible to keep fans as updated as we normally have done over the last few years, which has been frustrating for all of us.
“On Monday, the works were agreed and we had hoped that the work would have been completed in time for Saturday’s game to take place and were working for the game to take place, however by Tuesday afternoon this had changed and the game became more unlikely.
“This was due to the logistics of moving the heavy duty, specialist equipment which is required to do the job, and which are currently in very short supply in the UK.
“We then had go through the formal process of the EFL board approving the postponement on Wednesday – unfortunately we were not able to communicate to our fans, or Huddersfield fans, about this until the time that the postponement request was formally approved.
“This was approved by the EFL board on Wednesday afternoon, which then allowed us to make the announcement we did shortly after.
“It is important to clarify that while it is our home game, there are a number of different organisations involved in the match taking place (be it the EFL, Huddersfield Town or the stadium) and we have to work and co-ordinate with these organisations, Clubs and the competition rules – and this has also been the case for previous postponements. For example, the postponement of the Wigan game was only confirmed on the Saturday morning of the Millwall, at which point we were able to communicate this.
“I would also at this time like to apologise to Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic and Huddersfield Town, and Bristol City, for the inconvenience it has caused to them as Clubs and also to their supporters.
“I would also like to thank the EFL officers and directors for their support, guidance and understanding over the last few weeks.
“I know that our fans will be now looking forward to drawing a line under this saga, and we look forward to welcoming them back to the Arena on the 31st August, when we hope to continue the excitement and energy that we developed around matchdays last season as the Sky Blue Army gets right behind Mark Robins and the team.”