Former Ballymena United star fears pitch 'farce' could impact rest of this season

After Tuesday’s scheduled league meeting against Crusaders was called off, Ballymena have now been forced to postpone five home matches in 2026 due to failed pitch inspections.

With Premiership fixtures against Glenavon, Portadown and the Crues needing new dates, the Sky Blues will face a busy schedule over the next month.

Kearney’s men have five matches still to play in February, starting with a weekend trip to Glentoran before hosting Crusaders on Tuesday.

Ballymena travel to rivals Coleraine on February 20 and round the month off by welcoming both Glenavon (February 24) and Larne (February 28).

Only Cliftonville (24) have played fewer Premiership matches so far this season than Ballymena (25), who are currently trying to fight off potential relegation threat.

The Co Antrim club sit one point and position above the promotion/relegation play-off spot while only basement club Glenavon (22) have scored fewer goals this term than their 29.

Kane made 358 appearances for Ballymena and he feels the current situation could have an impact on the club’s players.

"They'll probably be playing Tuesday and Saturday for a while which isn't good, especially if you're around the bottom trying to pick up points,” he said. “The squad will be stretched...it could be a disadvantage to them towards the end of this season.

"I don't know if they're training two or three nights a week, but for players it'll feel like all you're doing is training.

"On Saturday you're expecting a match but then it's called off and you're reporting to The Showgrounds to train on the 3G.

"It's brutal because you want to have your match at the end of the week as a reward for a hard week of training.

"It’ll be a bit disheartening. You will see teams around you picking up points, or maybe not picking up points and you feel you could have gained ground.

"On the other hand as well, if you're playing Tuesday, Saturday and you're winning, you can't wait for games.”

Last month, Mid & East Antrim Council – owners of The Showgrounds – confirmed to the News Letter that “agreements are in place to upgrade the surface” at the end of this season.

Kane believes it’s an issue which needs sorted quickly as the Irish League continues moving towards greater professionalism.

"We have teams going full-time, the media coverage, everything is getting better and better, so we can't have a farce of having so many matches called off,” he added. “You can't be having that if you're looking to go down the professional route.

"It's crazy, I haven't seen the likes of it before. To be fair, it hasn't stopped raining and the pitch hasn't had a chance to dry out.

"I see there's plans to change the pitch and I think most clubs are heading towards 4G now because there'll be fewer postponements, but I prefer grass.

"I think players will probably pick up more injuries on a 4G pitch but it's where everybody seems to be going with it bringing more revenue into the club."