Boss wants opportunity to train at Murrayfield

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has called for the chance to train at BT Murrayfield after the Scottish Professional Football League’s decision to take their Betfred Cup semi-final with Hearts to Edinburgh.

The SPFL were forced into a rethink over plans to stage both Rangers’ lastfour showdown with Aberdeen and Celtic’s clash with Hearts at Hampden on the same day later this month following a backlash.

The league body confirmed the switch yesterday, with the home of Scottish rugby staging the Hearts-celtic game at 1:30pm, while the Rangersaberdeen clash remains at Hampden but with a later kick-off time of 4:30pm.

Hearts played several games at Murrayfield at the beginning of last season when their main stand was being refurbished and Celtic wanted a draw to determine which semifinal would be moved east.

Ahead of the Europa League Group B clash with Salzburg in Austria, Rodgers said: “We’re happy to play anywhere. The only thing I would say is I would assume we would have an option to train there be before we play because it was Hearts’ home ground for a number of months last season.

“If we’re having to go there, I would hope we would at least have the opportunity to train there before playing a semi-final.

“But it’s a nice pitch, everyone says it’s a nice pitch and a great stadium.”

Celtic issued a statement calling the process “discriminatory” and Rodgers agreed that his club had been treated badly.

“You want a fair process,” he said. “If Murrayfield and Hampden were going to be the venues, then there should have been a clearer process of who was playing there.”

Rodgers noted again that Hearts have had recent experience of playing at the stadium. He said: “We all see the sense in not having the two games in the one venue on the same day.

“If we’re talking about a neutral venue, then it’s certainly not a neutral venue with Hearts having played part of their season there last season.”