Killie’s pitchis worst ever
Stevie: Stars not safe on plastic
STEVEN GERRARD has thrown his weight behind PFA Scotland’s call to outlaw plastic pitches and labelled Kilmarnock’s surface the worst he’s ever seen.
The Rangers boss believes the surfaces put livelihoods at stake and joined the call by the players union for a top-flight ban to stop his stars being put in jeopardy. Gerrard slammed Rugby
FROM BACK PAGE Park’s astroturf – where Jamie Murphy got crocked – as the worst he has experienced anywhere in the world.
The Ibrox manager – whose side have played three times on plastic since the winter break – said: “All I ask is owners and governing bodies think about people’s families and bodies.
“These are people’s lives, where they’ve got to survive, pay bills and support their families, yet you know that at any given moment you could be wiped out for a full season.
“And there are no guarantees for being out of football for a full season how your career is going to pan out.
“I agree with the majority of the players in trying to get them out of the game at the elite level.
“I respect the teams that have put them in place for financial reasons – but having been a player and now a coach, I believe the game would be in a better place if there were no plastic pitches.”
Gerrard played on plastic pitches for Liverpool in Europe and when he starred for LA Galaxy in the MLS.
He reckons the Rugby Park surface where he watched Murphy’s season end back in August is the most dangerous of the lot.
But he’s convinced players at Killie, Hamilton and Livingston also dislike their own pitches even if they were not asked to take part in the petition.
Gerrard said: “I hated them. Your body just reacts differently to them.
“Your joints ache and your muscles are tired for longer. You can’t play your normal game you’ve been coached all your life. The ball doesn’t run or bounce true. Games are not as good to watch on plastic.
“In your mind, you think of the Murphy incident. The worst I’ve ever walked on was Kilmarnock’s.
“I’ve never played on a good one and I’ve played on the latest ones, they’re all awful in my opinion.
“It opens a debate because people say, ‘Why is Gerrard talking about injuries and bodies and blah, blah, blah.’
“But I’ve played and coached on them and I had a key player suffer a major injury on one and he’s missed a full season.
“I know and believe that if you asked Hamilton’s, Kilmarnock’s and Livingston’s players, would they rather play on grass or astroturf – if their owners weren’t there – you’d get a clean sweep.
“At times, if the weather doesn’t allow you to go on grass, I understand that, but, for me, who’s recently had a son, I’ll be very careful how many times he uses it.”
Gerrard is relieved to be on the Ibrox grass against St Johnstone today with his men training on their home pitch yesterday.
Jermain Defoe and Kyle Lafferty are battling to be fit but the boss is looking to turn up the heat on Premiership leaders Celtic.
Gerrard said: “That’s what we will try and do. It will be an interesting challenge.
“We will have to show patience. But we also have to play with an intensity and energy that makes St Johnstone suffer for 90 minutes.”