The Crombie Park club's first round GA Engineering Inter Regional Cup tie against Dyce was postponed for a fourth time at the weekend due to a waterlogged pitch.

Gibson's men haven't played since their 4-1 Scottish Cup defeat to Bathgate Thistle on December 5 as a result of a series of postponements because of the severe wintry weather along with a two week break over the festive period.

Such cancellations are becoming a common, annual occurrence over the winter period and Culter boss Gibson wants to break from tradition to trial a switch to summer football.

He said: "I think we should have the season from the end of February to November and see how it goes. Gone are the days of the traditional trades' holiday in July when everyone went away for two weeks. Our players take holidays during the season anyway and with the demands of work these days people have their holidays if and when.

"You do get a lot of traditionalists who say winter time is when you want to play and that there is already too much going on in the summer but I don't believe that. I think it would be more enjoyable to train and play in the nicer weather. At the moment we are struggling to get training sessions completed, let alone games."

Gibson also believes the change would suit the many supporters of junior football teams.

He said: "A lot of the crowd at junior games is made up of the parents and girlfriends of the players but you also get a lot of older guys that like to come along and watch their local team on a Saturday afternoon. The last thing they need is to go out when it is absolutely freezing. There were a couple of games on this Saturday and the weather was horrendous. Who wants to stand in that to watch a game? People are scared of change but I wish they would give it a go and then review it because I reckon it would be a success."

The Deesiders will be without striker Allan Smith for this Saturday's rescheduled cup tie against Dyce after he was injured in a 'bounce match' against Deveronvale last Saturday.

"Allan got a kick on his ankle and it looks like he could be out for a few weeks," said Gibson. "These things happen in football and he could have just as easily got injured in a training session with our own players. The game with Deveronvale was actually a good exercise and much needed because all the boys are desperate for a match at the moment. Martin Shand is still suspended but apart from that we have a full squad so we just have to hope the match gets the go-ahead at the weekend."

Gibson admits that any more postponements may result in the season having to be extended because of the growing backlog of fixtures.
He added: "We have quite a large squad but we will need it this season as we are going to be playing Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday and then Saturday again as soon as it is light enough in the evenings. With work commitments, suspensions, injuries and holidays you are going to need a large pool of players.

"I would rather just play one midweek game than starting to play games on both a Tuesday and a Thursday because you can't really prepare properly for games when they come in such quick succession and it is not fair on the players either.

"Even the professional teams moan like hell when they have to play three times a week. Players at our standard are working full time so asking them to play matches two nights a week as well as at the weekends is a bit much."