THE Rodney Parade pitch problems are not going away and it’s time for Newport County AFC, Newport Gwent Dragons and Newport RFC to demonstrate that they are working together to find a solution.

County have already had one match postponed and two abandoned this season but the New Year’s Day drama before the Dragons took on the Ospreys means the problem is now a real concern for the rugby clubs as well.

The hotly anticipated Guinness PRO12 derby clash was very nearly postponed after heavy rain left standing water on the surface.

It was eventually given the go ahead by referee Ian Davies after several pitch inspections but the teams struggled to entertain the 6,746 crowd and the BBC viewers as the pitch was turned into a mudbath.

“The conditions were horrific and I definitely had serious concerns and was pretty unhappy about the state of the field,” said Ospreys head coach Steve Tandy.

“As an advert for the competition, it doesn’t lend itself to be a spectacle for the supporters.

“The safety (was a concern), it doesn’t make a difference to us if there is a little bit of water or the pitch is cut up, that’s life and that’s the winter, but there was definitely a concern for player safety.”

County boss Graham Westley has also weighed in, claiming the pitch is not fit for football.

“The surface is a rugby pitch and it’s got a rugby pitch’s drainage and it fills up with water and it floods. That’s it,” he said.

“It’s not suitable for football.

“It needs better drainage if it’s going to stage football matches.

“I’m not getting involved in the politics but you’d expect the owners of the pitch – if they agree a 10-year deal to host football matches – to have the drainage in place to host football matches.

“I’m sure that conversations are going on and will be going on between the football club and the rugby club or the owners, whoever they are, in relation to the surface.

“You can’t play football on a rugby pitch. You have to play football on a football pitch.”

It has to be said that there is no obvious solution to the problem.

An artificial surface is a non-starter while the Exiles are in the Football League due to competition rules.

And even if they are relegated a 3G or 4G surface would act as a barrier to promotion, quite apart from the cost involved in installing it.

Financial constraints also mean a Desso pitch composed of natural grass combined with artificial fibres is not feasible at the moment.

It’s hard to see County going back to Spytty Park, where the surface is far from perfect and the facilities fall short of Football League requirements.

And a new stadium would need significant outside investment and potentially a helping hand from the local authorities to get off the ground.

County announced on December 19 that they had been “working with the Football League, Rodney Parade and an expert pitch consultant given recent challenges.”

The statement added: “The experts have produced a report outlining a number of recommendations covering both the short (until the end of the season) and long term (close season and beyond) which has been shared with all parties.

“The club has also discussed the findings of the report with the Football League and will be putting a plan together with Rodney Parade to address the recommendations.”

It would be a good idea to share that report and the proposed solutions with the fans of all three clubs.

The ground's owners – Rodney Parade Limited – carried out emergency drainage work in October and are reported to be planning to install a new drainage system this summer.

And if that’s the case then they need to do everything they can to ensure that history does not repeat itself.

County moved to Rodney Parade in 2012 and initial drainage work was carried out in the summer of 2013 but the improvements were only completed on half of the pitch.

Justin Edinburgh’s side saw six home matches postponed between December 2013 and February 2014 and large parts of the northern end of the pitch were covered in sand.

The work was finally completed in the summer of 2014 and there were no problems throughout the following season.

All County’s matches went ahead as planned with the 2-0 Boxing Day win over Plymouth Argyle completed in torrential rain.

Since then it’s been a gradual decline to the point where any forecast of prolonged periods of rain in the winter months leaves the clubs and the hugely overworked ground staff crossing their fingers and hoping for the best.

That’s no good to anyone and it’s time that all parties worked together in an open and transparent way to solve the issue once and for all.