YOUR PITCH IS RUBBISH
Skipper blasts Falkirk’s astro-grass ahead of weekend showdown
St Mirren skipper Stephen McGinn has branded Falkirk’s artificial pitch “rubbish” as the Buddies prepare to take on the Bairns this Saturday.
McGinn admits he isn’t a fan of the astro-grass surface used by their Championship rivals, with the midfielder favouring the traditional grass that Falkirk used prior to switching to the all-weather pitch.
Saints head to The Falkirk Stadium looking to extend their lead at the top of the table having opened up a three-point gap at the weekend.
And despite being irked by the pitch, McGinn has high hopes of St Mirren earning their first win at Falkirk since October 2009, when goals from Craig Dargo, Billy Mehmet and Tom Brighton sealed a 3-1 win in the top flight.
McGinn told Express Sport: “It’s a hard place to go. Falkirk have an astroturf pitch – and it is rubbish.
“They used to have a lovely pitch down at Falkirk, but now they have the artificial one, and that is never great.
“Of course that is just my personal opinion but I used to love going to Falkirk because they had such a great grass park.
“I can’t say I like it now but it is becoming part of football and there are a few of them in the league.
“We go there knowing how hard it is. Falkirk don’t often get beaten at home and I couldn’t tell you the last time St Mirren won there.
“But we go there trying to win the game and extend our lead at the top of the table.
“I played under Paul Hartley at Dundee so I know how he works and I know that it will be a tough game.”
McGinn was back in sterling form on Saturday in the side’s 2- 0 win over Dumbarton, teeing up Adam Eckersley to deliver the cross for Gavin Reilly’s opener.
Many fans shouted for the midfielder to shoot when the ball dropped to him at the edge of the box, but he admits he would much rather leave it to the strikers, with his last goal coming at Falkirk in April.
He said: “I suppose the fans were shouting at me to shoot and they might have a point because I’ve still not scored this season.
“It is going to get to the stage where the boys start getting on at me a bit.
“But Gavin got another goal, and John Sutton came on and scored, and these are the guys that we are going to need to score to get us top of the league.”