ROY EVANS' future now lies solely in the hands of the Town board after Mother Nature prevented the director of football seeing the full force of fan power.

A frozen County Ground pitch thwarted the Evening Advertiser's Don't Go Roy poster campaign.

It had been hoped that Evans would have walked out to a sea of red before Town's game with Huddersfield.

The supporters and this newspaper are desperate to see Evans remain and all the indications were that fans were preparing to really back the gesture.

However, referee Joe Ross carried out a pitch inspection shortly after 11am and took less than 10 minutes to call off the clash with the Terriers.

He said: "Even if we'd have started the game, I couldn't see a way to finish it, with the temperatures expected to fall further."

But with Evans promising a decision in the next 24 hours, the chance to strike while the iron was hot appears to have been thwarted.

The director of football admits it will be a difficult decision, but the Swindon Town Supporters' Club believe a compromise should be sought giving both the board and Evans more time to work out a way forward.

Spokesman Nigel Bennett said: "The Evening Advertiser poster would have been a crucial way for the fans to speak as one.

"Roy would have been left in no doubt as to what people felt about his achievements with Swindon in the short time he's been at the club.

"The unusual thing for me is that I have not heard a single dissenting voice, and that's the first time I can ever remember that happening with a Swindon manager."

Bennett said he hoped a way could be found to prevent Evans quitting, adding "Maybe a compromise is the way forward.

"Perhaps they could agree a deal whereby Roy stays to the end of the season and the situation is reviewed then."

The postponement of Saturday's game and the loss of around £50,000 in gate money, led to questions about why the pitch was not covered the evening before.

Chief executive Peter Rowe said: "The club has been without frost sheets for a number of years.

" They are very expensive and the money simply hasn't been there to buy new ones since the last set wore out."

The new board will now be looking to see a thaw in relations with the council when they meet today.

The Willie Carson-led board has put sorting out its debts with the council high on the priority list. It is thought the club owes around £200,000 in rent.

Town's reserves will look to climb off the bottom of the Avon Insurance Combination when they host Northampton Town at the County Ground on Wednesday afternoon (2pm). The second team have gone eight games without a win.