Town groundsman Alan Ferguson has been in Angola working at the Africa Cup of Nations. Ferguson is a FIFA consultant and a non-executive director of Support in Sport, who installed 13 pitches ahead of the competition.
Ferguson wrote in his blog for Horticulture Week: "I am in Angola working in the National Stadium in Luanda looking after the games in Group A of the African Cup of Nations.
"This has been my first prolonged experience with warm season grasses and I have to say I have been impressed. This pitch has been hammered and does not have any right to have a single leaf of grass on it.
"The run up and opening ceremony was all rehearsed on the pitch with no protection. The leaf was pounded into the ground but amazingly has started to pick up.”
The conditions in Angola are in marked contrast to those at Portman Road where Ferguson’s staff successful prepared Saturday’s pitch for the Coventry game.
Writing at the end of last week, the multi-award-winning groundsman said: "The pitch has been under the cover for almost two weeks and the hope is to get it off by the end of the week. Snow clearing has been going on around the stadium as the club have as big a responsibility to the surrounds as they do to the pitch.
"We have been lucky over the New Year period in as most of our games have been away from home.
"The Training Centre has been more difficult as almost two feet of snow had built up over a period of time. The lads have managed to get the team on grass by clearing snow. It is important to try and keep the team active.”
Roy Keane's side were back training outside on Friday having spent much of the previous week or so indoors.