Groundsman voices concern over state of patchwork pitch

A British groundsman who works at the Luzhniki Stadium has admitted that the freshly laid pitch is not up to scratch for a European Cup final and fears that it could cut up tonight. Matthew Frost, who has worked in Moscow since last year, said yesterday: "I'm totally disappointed with the whole project and what we're presenting for the final. It's acceptable but it's a big personal disappointment for me and the project as a whole, because things haven't gone very well from the start."

The pitch has been re-laid twice since the plastic pitch on which England lost to Russia in October was taken up but, as the two teams trained on it last night, it still looked like patchwork when viewed through cameras suspended above the surface.

Sir Alex Ferguson said that he was not worried that the surface would affect his players' performance. "I've no concerns about it," he said. "Uefa have done their best and the fact they've re-laid it from the artificial surface to turf is a big delight."

The United manager also announced that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would be appointed manager of his reserve team next season. The move shows just how much faith he has in the striker who scored the winning goal in the Champions League final of 1999. The United manager also dismissed suggestions that Cristiano Ronaldo would be leaving the club. He told a Spanish reporter he would be prepared to "have a big bet" with him that the player stayed.

Sir Bobby Charlton said yesterday that he would be "delighted" if Ryan Giggs surpasses his record of 758 Manchester United appearances by playing a role tonight.

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