A LOT has been said about this summer’s music festival at the JD Stadium, but the club has not offered any explanation as yet about how this might affect pre-season.

Chairman Stewart Day spent a small fortune upgrading the pitch before the start of the current campaign, only for the new drainage system to fail.

It was such a shame to see that investment literally go down the drain.

And you can imagine Mike Curtis – the club’s head groundsman – cannot wait for the final home game to finish so he can get to work on rescuing the pitch.

That might not be until the middle of May now, with the Shakers looking likely to feature in the play-offs as Wycombe continue to keep their noses in front in the race for automatic promotion.

Although, if Bury continue the stunning form that took them to a thrilling win at home to Shrewsbury they might yet sneak into the top three.

That race now looks set to go right down to the wire, but whatever happens in the run-in, the timing of the concerts, in mid-June, still puzzles me.

In my day as a player, you would not have been able to get anywhere near the pitch in summer without a stern warning from the ground staff.

May and June is the key growing time.

Football pitches are just like players, they need time to rest in the summer months.

And considering the state of the pitch at present, it will need plenty of nurturing to get back to its best.

So whatever money the club stands to make from these concerts, I can only see them costing Bury in the long run.

Certainly, if the pitch goes the same way as it did this season, this time the club’s directors will only have themselves to blame.

And I can’t see David Flitcroft being too happy if his side have to compromise on their style of play again to accommodate a sub-standard surface.

The other thing that concerns me is the plans for pre-season fixtures.

If work on the pitch does not start until after the concerts then you would imagine there is a risk the surface will not be ready for the new season, never mind pre-season fixtures.

That means Bury will probably have to play their warm-up games away from home.

As a player, you always wanted to a get in a game or two on home turf before the season started, while it is nice for fans to see their team play against one of the region’s glamour clubs.

Sadly, it seems in this money-driven world, what is best for supporters, players and even managers now comes too far down the pecking order.