TORRENTIAL rain has forced Newcastle Jets to modify their preparations, but coach Craig Deans remains confident the pitch at McDonald Jones Stadium will be in good shape for Sunday's historic A-League double-header.
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Newcastle play Adelaide in Sunday's second fixture, kicking off at 6.40pm, after the clash between Brisbane and Wellington from 4.05pm.
Thursday's deluge left the Jets' training fields at Newcastle University flooded, prompting Deans to switch Friday's session to Northern NSW Football's synthetic pitches at Speers Point.
They may well be back there on Saturday morning for their captain's run, because the usual pre-match session at McDonald Jones will be transferred as a precaution.
Deans was relaxed about the possible state of the playing surface on Sunday, recalling that the Jets hosted Central Coast in February last year, less than 24 hours after a Super Rugby match in wet conditions between the NSW Waratahs and Auckland Blues.
"We were a little bit worried that they might have made a mess of the pitch, but it was actually really good," Deans said.
"I think if it can withstand a rugby union match, on a very wet night, I would imagine it will be fine [on Sunday]. But I guess we have to wait and see."
McDonald Jones Stadium venue manager Dean Mantle said he had "no concerns" about the pitch, even though more heavy rain is forecast for Friday and the weekend.
"At this point in time, we're still all systems go, other than cancelling the Jets' captain's run," Mantle said.
"It [the pitch] is built to handle even worse weather than this.
"The drainage is incredible. There are no pools of water on the ground at the moment, and after speaking to the groundsman this morning, they have no doubt the games will go ahead."
Deans said the weather would have no bearing on Newcastle's tactical approach.
"We won't try and change the way we play, or the team we pick," Deans said.
"But I think it's pretty likely it's going to have an impact on the game. The stadium has good drainage, but I think it's still going to be a heavy pitch, which will make things interesting."
After three successive defeats, the Jets have slipped to second-last on the ladder, six points adrift of the top six. But the table is so congested that they are only eight points behind second-placed Western Sydney.
Deans said Kosovo international Liridon Krasniqi, who made his debut off the bench in last week's 2-1 loss to Sydney FC, was ready for more game time, but he won't feature in the starting team on Sunday.
