Keith Kent

Headgroundsman

Manchester United F. C.

I have worked as a groundsman all my working life. I left school in 1970 and joined Leicester City as a trainee groundsman working first on their Belvoir Drive training ground.

I left Leicester City in 1987 to move to Old Trafford as headgroundsman a position I have very proudly held ever since.

I have seen a lot of changes in my time but still the basics are what always see you through.

I am excited about the impact Pitchcare. Com is going to have on my industry. I believe that the way forward is to train and educate as many groundsman as we can. It is about the university of life.

I believe, if we can pass on to as many young and old groundsmen just the basics and the need to do the basics then it will be well worth while.

It is time that we as a body of men were recognised for all the hard work and effort that goes into having the best playing surfaces in the world. We often hear about how good other people are and how we have fallen behind other nations. Well not in our trade!

We have the finest football pitches in the world. At both soccer and rugby. No mid winter breaks for us, no matter what the weather the groundsman nearly always get the event played. We have just endured the two wettest winters since records began and still we kept on playing.

You only have to watch a summers sport on television to see the finest golf courses or horse racing tracks to see just how good we are.

Pitchcare.com is going to help every groundsman in the land. I see us going forward with trials of machinery, seed and fertilisers. If we can tell everyone the truth of the product without them spending their budgets on failures that in itself would be worthwhile.

We can all learn, no one is setting themselves up to be "the big I am" but rather we are going to pass on out wide ranging experiences to others in the hope that we can be of a help to others.

I support Pitchcare.com 110%. This is the way forward, this is everyone's future.

I feel honoured and flattered to be asked to help in such a worthy cause.

Yours Sincerely