Cougars chairman Gary Fawcett spoke of his disappointment and surprise after today’s friendly at Championship rivals Halifax was postponed.

Paul March’s side were scheduled to play their pre-season encounter at The Shay but the match was called off on Saturday morning due to a waterlogged pitch.

Fawcett expressed surprise at the announcement and said he considered the prospect of switching the game to Cougar Park.

The Cougars chief said: “I was really disappointed the game got called off but it was too late to stage the game at Cougar Park because we didn’t find out until late on Saturday morning.

“In my view, Halifax must have had considerably more rain than Keighley has had because certainly Cougar Park wasn’t waterlogged.

“It could have gone ahead at our ground, so I was very disappointed about the postponement because we were looking forward to it and I was fired up for it.

“It was an opportunity for us to have a look at the new signings and see what we could do against Halifax.

“Historically, when we have played each other, there has been a big turn-out from both sets of supporters. We had over 2,000 there when we last played at The Shay.”

Fawcett said that, while he would have liked to have seen the game moved to Cougar Park, logistically it would have not been possible.

He explained: “We wouldn’t have been able to get organised in time. We briefly thought about it but you’ve got to get the turnstile staff, stewards and match-day officials as well as marking the pitch out, so it’s quite a big undertaking.”

It is not clear whether the game will be rearranged but the Cougars are due to host Rochdale in their next scheduled pre-season outing this coming Sunday (3pm).