Motherwell chairman John Boyle has revealed the Fir Park pitch could be unavailable for the next three to four weeks as the club attempt to solve their chronic waterlogging problem.
Boyle expects tenants Gretna to play their match against Celtic in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League next weekend at a different venue, and suggested Livingston's Almondvale or Hamilton's New Douglas Park could be suitable.
Motherwell will also have to find alternative venues for their forthcoming home fixtures.
Motherwell had to postpone their own SPL game against Celtic when an attempt to drain the pitch of water made the problem worse.
Boyle told BBC Radio Scotland: "We have a very serious problem and I'm going to address it fundamentally in order that we can get our games on.
"Fans need certainty, we haven't been giving them this.
"I am on the case.
"[Motherwell secretary] Stewart Robertson and myself are talking to [Scottish Premier League secretary] Iain Blair.
"I think what we are going to have to do is that we're going to have to drastically take some action which will not be able to be done in days.
"And in the light of that, we're going to try to relocate some of our fixtures, so that the fans and especially the away fans have some certainty about the remaining fixtures.
"This might take three to four weeks to sort out.
"Every short-term measure we have tried to take clearly hasn't worked and we are hugely embarrassed and absolutely apologetic to the fans."
Boyle, who recently returned to the role of chairman six years after stepping down from the position, will have been stung by the criticism Motherwell received this morning.
A Celtic spokesperson said, following the announcement of the postponement: "This is extremely disappointing news and once again has caused massive inconvenience for those supporters who travel long distances to matches.
"There is clearly a fundamental issue with this pitch and we would have obvious concerns about future matches taking place at Fir Park, including next Sunday's scheduled league tie with Gretna."
The confirmation from Boyle that Gretna's fixture against Celtic will almost certainly have to be moved at least means there will be more chance of the game proceeding.
Boyle said: "If I'm going to sort the pitch out I can't do it by next Saturday.
"I'm bringing independent experts in on Monday to give us second and third opinions on the state of the pitch."
Motherwell had announced last night that a pitch inspection would take place, but they stressed it was precautionary and expected the game to be played.
"We thought the pitch would be playable, we were attending to one last bit," Boyle said.
"We brought in blowers, we brought in covers."
But the most affected area did not respond in the way Motherwell expected when they attempted to drain it.
"The water bubbled back up," Boyle revealed.
Now Boyle is planning to put a new place in pitch this summer.
He added: "I am probably coming to the conclusion, the very expensive conclusion, that we're not talking about re-laying the pitch, we're talking about ripping it up and starting again with new soil and everything else.
"I'm appalled at what's happened today.
"We're holding our hands up. We're going to sort this."
Gretna are banking on a bumper crowd next weekend for their clash with Celtic, hoping the gate receipts will be able to prop them up and allow them to stay in business for the rest of the season.
"We will produce a venue for the game," Boyle said.
"I would say that the game will go ahead but it probably won't go ahead at Fir Park.
"There's plenty of football grounds. It could be Livingston, could be Hamilton, I don't know."
Boyle stressed no more football has been played at Fir Park this season than during the 2006/07 campaign.
Gretna have played their SPL matches at the stadium, but Motherwell's reserves no longer play on the first-team pitch.
"The Gretna situation is not responsible for the state of the pitch," Boyle said. "Clearly our drainage system is inadequate to cope with it."
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