Rotherham United's Grounds Team have picked up yet another respected award.
After picking up the EFL League One Grounds Team of the Year last season, the work of Head Groundsman Dave Fellowes and his team has been noted once again.
The team have been honoured by the Institute of Groundsmanship as Grounds Team of the Year for 2018.
The awards celebrated its 10th anniversary, and is recognised as one of the most respected bodies in football, as Dave explains:
“The award is voted for by the peers in our industry,” he said.
“It's an Institute of Groundsmanship award so it's really good because it's actually been recognised by our fellow professionals.
“The award was for last season and we were voted winners from all the teams out of League One, League Two, the National League, including North and South, some of the Scottish leagues all of Wales and all of Ireland. It's great because it covers a lot of clubs across Great Britain.
“To be in with a chance of winning you have to be nominated, and then we have to fill out the relevant paperwork before a representative from the body arrives to inspect.
“The applications are then sent to a panel of judges and that's when all the top Groundsmen in the country go through it all and pick out a winner.”
Dave was also quick to praise his team, with Mykel Parkin and Dave Burton both instrumental in maintaining the excellent playing surface at AESSEAL New York Stadium and at the club’s Roundwood training ground.
“I want to reiterate that it's a grounds 'team' award and it wouldn't be possible without Mykel Parkin and Dave Burton, who both put in loads of work to get our pitches into the best possible condition,” Dave added.
“We all come together and we all do our different jobs so it really is a team award. They're fantastic to work with and I genuinely couldn't ask any more of them. It's nice to see everyone's hard work resulting in awards.