Mackay's Watford are unbeaten in their last four outings

Watford boss Malky Mackay has no complaints about referee Grant Hegley's decision to postpone the Boxing Day Championship game against Ipswich.

The match was called off less than two hours before kick-off after an inspection of the Portman Road pitch.

The official deemed the surface unsafe to play on and Mackay told BBC Three Counties Radio he agreed.

"Just as we pulled up, I got the call to say it was off, and it was the right decision the referee's made," he said.

"But it was obviously very late.

"We spoke to the Ipswich ground staff all week and it was fine, it's just unfortunate."

Hornets fans who made the trip from Hertfordshire were left disappointed, many of them having already made it to Suffolk by the time the decision was made.

606: DEBATE At least one of the referee's calls in these matches was an abberation, and some might argue that both were North North Watford

But Mackay believes the game was given the best possibility of going ahead.

"At 10 o'clock in the morning the cover was still on and everything was still OK," he added.

"It was only when they took it off and from there it's not gone so good.

"I know Alan Ferguson, the head groundsman here. He's gutted it's not on and his pitch is always very good here."

Town had played a game against Leicester City the week before in the midst of a flurry of snow, with some suggesting that the conditions for the Watford clash were not any worse.

But events in the Foxes match, which saw Ipswich 3-0 up by half-time, could have influenced the decision to postpone Boxing Day's fixture, claimed Town boss Keane.

"The referee might have been a bit conscious of last week and thought 'Listen, I'm not going to start the game in case someone scores early'," he told the club website.

"It was a case of 'if in doubt' perhaps. It's down to the referee whether he thinks the pitch is playable or not.

"I don't think managers should get involved with any of those decisions."

The condensation that had built up froze as we pulled the covers off, with the air in the stadium still at zero Ipswich Town groundsman Alan Ferguson

Groundsman Alan Ferguson added: "I know the referee Stuart Attwell got a lot of criticism for playing the game here last week.

"So perhaps he didn't want to start the game and then have to take another look if the temperatures dropped in the second half.

"What had happened, I think, was that the condensation that had built up froze as we pulled the covers off, with the air in the stadium still at zero."

Home supporters who bought match day tickets will be entitled to a full refund if they do not want to attend the rescheduled fixture.

Watford fans should contact the club's ticket office for more details.

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