MARCUS Cassidy, 28, is one of the unsung heroes of the County Ground.

The head groundsman, pictured, started as an assistant groundsman nine years ago, and is responsible for 6,969 square metres of pitch.

He said: “I love Swindon because of my job, working outside, being a football fan and being part of Swindon Town Football Club.

“For the last two weeks I’ve done over 140 hours.

“In the summer, that’s your busiest time, it’s a minimum of 40 to 60 hours a week with all the cutting.

“In the winter it’s best to leave the pitch alone. When it’s raining it’s a chance to get some time off.”

“I’m cutting a minimum of five times a week at the moment and taking off about 50 black bags a cut.”

He said his biggest fear was that during a match the nets would fall off or a goal would fall down.

Marcus said his funniest experience was in a pre-season friendly against Millwall five years ago.

He said: “I had forgotten to turn the sprinkler timer off so about 3.30pm in the first half the sprinklers came on during the game. I got a lot of stick for that.

“I also blew the mower up. One day the mower went bang. I’d been away on holiday for a couple of weeks, the guy that covered me didn’t check the oil, then I came back and I hadn’t checked it either, within five minutes of using it the mower blew up”

Marcus’ prediction for the forthcoming league match against the MK Dons tomorrow: “First home game! 1-0 win!”