Manchester United and Chelsea will train at Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium this afternoon and this evening and groundsman Matt Frost will be one of those keeping a close eye on proceedings.

The Englishman was in charge of relaying a new grass surface at the venue just over 2 weeks ago and he’s not happy with the results.

Speaking to the BBC, he said “The pitch is acceptable but it is a big personal disappointment for me.”Things didn’t go well from the start, the pitch has only been down 15 days.”

The old synthetic pitch was ripped up after England’s Euro 2008 qualifier against Russia in October and a new grass one laid in readiness for the final.

But experts decided it was too bumpy, prompting stadium authorities to lay another at a cost of £160,000.

Initially, Frost thought all was well but he became less confident as time went on.

“I’m totally disappointed with the whole project and what we are presenting for the final,” he said. “My main achievement is that we have got a new pitch down.

“If I hadn’t persuaded them, they would have used the old one which would have been a catastrophe.”

However, Uefa spokesman William Gaillard said he was happy with the surface. “In terms of the quality, we have made some tests in the last few days and it is perfectly fine” he said.

“It may not look very, very green on television, but, essentially, it is a good pitch to play football on. At this stage, we are confident it will be fine.”

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