Gillingham have responded to questions from the Lancashire Telegraph about the postponement of Saturday’s game.

A club statement, released on Saturday after the game was called off at 11:30am, said the decision had been taken because of ‘health and safety concern for all supporters’ and that ‘the club, along with the referee and the police, were left with little choice but to postpone’.

Around 1,200 Rovers fans were bound for the Priestfield Stadium, some having already arrived in Kent, when the decision was made.

A re-arranged date of Tuesday, April 10 has now been set for the game.

Q: What were the affected areas referred to in the club statement? Was the away stand the main area of concern for supporter safety, or did this include the home areas as well?

A: The affected areas were in the exposed Brian Moore Stand, which was the main concern. Some other areas of the ground were also affected.

Q: Was any thought given to moving the away fans and accommodate them in other areas of the ground?

A: We would not have had enough space in any other stands to safely accommodate and segregate the expected numbers from Blackburn.

Q: If ‘little choice was given to postpone’ at 11:30am, could the decision not have been made earlier?

A: Blackburn, and the referee, were informed of the amber weather warning for Saturday, on Friday. The referee, at that time, said he would be available about 11am on Saturday if necessary. The snow started falling about 8am and it took nearly 4 hours to remove all the pitch covers.

Q: Was the decision to postpone this game different from the one against Rotherham earlier this month which was made 48 hours in advance?

A: Yes. Then, there were 200mm of snow on the pitch. The local area was completely overwhelmed.

Q: Had there not been concerns over supporter safety, would the pitch have been playable at 3pm?

A: This we don’t know, but at the time of leaving, the referee mentioned that the snow on the pitch had started to become icy. The temperatures did not go above freezing. There was an amber weather warning for the afternoon and the wind was strong and feeling like -5 degrees. It could have frozen by 1pm.