AFC Fylde manager Dave Challinor was left frustrated after his side’s FA Trophy tie against Skelmersdale United was postponed due awful weather conditions.

Despite relentless work from groundstaff throughout the morning, the club were forced to call the match off after a pitch inspection at lunchtime.

The Coasters now face the rearranged fixture tomorrow evening, just days before their huge National League North clash against title rivals Solihull Moors on Saturday and Challinor admits the situation is less than ideal.

Challinor said: “There was no chance the game could go ahead unfortunately. There was standing water all over the pitch.

“It is very frustrating, but when that volume of rain comes down in such a short space of time, there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it.

“When you see Football League games also being called off, like Fleetwood just around the corner from us, for the same reason then you just have to accept it. Any pitch would have struggled to cope with what we faced on Saturday.

“It is difficult because you make plans and preparations with regards to the team and for the next game and that all goes out of the window. It is disruptive, especially when we have such an important league game coming up at the weekend, but we will have to deal with this type of situation, particularly around this time of the year.

“We now have a couple of decisions to make around training, whether we train tonight before the game or just train Wednesday and Thursday leading up to the Solihull Moors match. It also may alter the team we put out on Tuesday night now.

“We have been quite lucky in the past with weather and pitch conditions where we are. I’ve been at Fylde for four years and I can probably count on one hand the number of games that have been called off.

“Our pitch is in fantastic condition, it was simply the amount of rain that made it impossible. It didn’t even let up after the game had been called off so it was the right decision.

“We were hoping to get this game out of the way so to speak and have a full week with three training sessions to prepare for Solihull, but we will get on with it the best we can.”