Sunderland's deteriorating pitch has been a cause of concern for more than a year - but Lee Johnson says the Black Cats' excellent home record shows they have learned to adapt.
Johnson is known for his attention to detail when it comes to the playing suface and he has said several times that the pitch at the Stadium of Light does not help the passing game he wants his side to play.
The pitch was in the spotlight last week when it appeared to have been heavily watered before kick-off against Lincoln City which left the surface waterlogged, with Johnson saying afterwards that he did not know who had taken that decision and why.
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But while the condition of the pitch has been criticised, it does not seem to have had a negative impact on results with Sunderland boasting the best home record this season across the three divisions of the EFL, and a points-per-game return on their own patch bettered only by top-flight powerhouses Manchester City and Liverpool.
Sunderland have collected 31 points from 13 games on home soil, at an average of 2.38ppg.
Blackburn have the best home record in the Championship with 30 points from 14 games (2.14ppg), while in League Two Tranmere Rovers lead the way with 30 points from 13 games (2.31ppg).
Man City have 28 points from 11 games (2.55ppg) and Liverpool are just ahead of Sunderland with 24 points from 10 games (2.4ppg).
"Let's not use the pitch as an excuse, because we have still got pretty much the best home record in the country," said Johnson, whose side is back in action at the Stadium of Light on Saturday when Portsmouth are the vistors.
"Some people might put forward the argument that we are better on this type of pitch!
"A good pitch is conducive to moving the ball quicker and we did that well in the game at Crewe, to pick an example, and maybe Wycombe away.
"It's a different speed, players don't have to watch their touch so much.
"There is still an opportunity to promote growth on this pitch, to add value to the playing surface through hard work and a bit of investment.
"I'm sure that as spring comes, there will be more and more effort put into the pitch and it will improve."
Of the state of the surface against Lincoln, Johnson added: "On that particular occasion, I haven't had the chance to delve into it.
"I went to the stadium the day before to check various longer grass lengths to check that the ball was moving as I would have hoped, and I was happy with that.
"The mentality of the guys was to try to help the team by getting the pitch as slick as possible.
"Whether there was a malfunction, whether it was human error, I don't know, but for whatever reason the first 10 or 15 minutes of the game it wasn't quite as we expected.
"That's something we have to discuss internally, but we certainly won't be hanging anybody out to dry because their intentions will have been pure."
Whenever Johnson has spoken about the pitch, he has been at pains to absolve the groundstaff of blame and instead point to the fact that the surface is showing its age.
"First and foremost, my instinct is to defend the people," he said.
"As I've said before, we have great groundstaff who work extremely hard, often against the elements.
"But the starting point is that we know that that pitch is an old pitch - it's one that could have been replaced in previous years.
"We have spent money on the pitches, both at the training ground and at the stadium.
"The club has recently invested in UV lights to promote grass growth, but there is a lot that goes into it as far as air-flow is concerned, and the opinion of the horticulturalist counts in how you adapt the grass lengths.
"Are the roots holding? Is there infection in there? There are a million things that I'm not specialised enough to discuss.
"All I know is that they are great guys, they work extremely hard, and they are doing their best."
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