EWOOD Park is top of the league...according to the men of Ice!

Blackburn Rovers received an international pat on the back when a party of Icelandic groundsmen, greenkeepers and sports administrators visited -- to cast an expert eye over the playing surfaces not only at Ewood Park, but at Brockhall and the Academy.

And, after due consideration, the group declared the Ewood pitch as "the best they had seen in England."

Over here in England to attend the prestigious British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association Show in Harrogate, they took the opportunity to inspect some of the north's finest facilities.

One of the party, Johann Kristinsson, manager of Reykjaviks National Stadion, said: "We travelled to Old Trafford, the Cellnet Stadium and the Stadium of Light, but Ewood Park definitely has the finest pitch.

"We see English football on TV in Iceland and we know about Rovers, so we particularly wanted to visit. The groundsman at Middlesbrough was very proud of his training pitches but advised us to look at Blackburn."

Rovers head groundsman Steve Patrick, who gave the overseas visitors a full tour, said: "Our set up here is well-known and people come to see us from all over the world. It is a feather in our cap when we receive such compliments like this, but we just hope we were able to assist by passing on sound advice."

"The pitch is standing up well, considering we have had one-and-a-half metres of rain since September. That is about 300 per cent up on our normal rainfall." TOP PITCH: Head groundsman Steve Patrick (centre) shows the Icelandic visitors around Ewood