BURNLEY have taken the drastic step of ripping up their problematic pitch in a bid to avoid any more costly postponements.

Turf Moor chiefs yesterday gave the go-ahead for a four-metre stretch of turf in the shadow of the Bob Lord Stand to be re-turfed in time for Saturday's Championship clash with Reading.

The Clarets almost lost £200,000 after a boggy area, which ran the whole length of the pitch, caused the postponement of last week's FA Cup third round tie with Liverpool.

And chief executive Dave Edmundson is now confident that this latest move will solve the problem until a long-term solution can be sought in the summer.

"We were left with little choice," Edmundson admitted today. "It is not a case of this being the best option - it is the only realistic option because of the problems that area of the pitch has caused us in recent weeks.

"We are being pro-active and the manager Steve Cotterill, has been instrumental in sorting it out so that we ensure we have no more postponements this season."

Around four metres of turf has already been removed, with new grass being laid today and tomorrow ahead of the weekend game with the Royals and the Sky TV cameras returning on Tuesday for Liverpool's rescheduled trip to Turf Moor.

Meanwhile, Cotterill today turned his attentions back to the weekend, which could see Michael Duff still sidelined against Reading with a calf strain that ruled him out of the original Liverpool game last Friday.

The former Cheltenham defender, who has missed just two games all season through suspension, has spent the week back in the now-famed oxygen tank in a bid to accelerate his recovery.