Plastic can’t pose problem for Pedro as he prepares to adapt

MARK WARBURTON made no secret of his aversion to artificial surfaces and was criticised for not being open to altering tactics for some away games.

All of which made disappointing results such as August’s 1-1 draw against a 10-man Kilmarnock side at Rugby Park such a huge frustration on Rangers’ return to the top flight.

As Rangers prepare to travel to Ayrshire for a midweek test, Pedro Caixinha insists he has no issues with encountering a plastic surface just weeks after leaving the lush surfaces of Qatar.

And he stressed that adapting to the surface and the different dynamics of his first road game as Rangers manager should be well within the compass of he and his players.

Caixinha, who scouted next Sunday’s opponents Aberdeen on Friday night at Dens Park, said: ‘It’s a different surface.

‘But if FIFA gives you the licence to play it, and the surface is evolving, it means it’s almost the same as playing on grass.

‘In my time as a player they were like carpets. The first generation of those pitches was very poor. As a goalkeeper you just needed to know about the rebounds.

‘In my experience in Qatar, all pitches were natural grass and in Mexico one club, Tijuana, was artificial.

‘I’m not going to push players to work here on our artificial surfaces indoor or outside to prepare for the game on Wednesday. They know how to deal with it.

‘You need to adapt, especially about the speed of the ball when it hits the ground, the height of the rebound.

‘There are guys, as you know, who normally when they have injury problems — especially knee problems — have this thing that they worry about injuring themselves again.

‘So you need to deal with that. But the rest is all the same. For sure, there is no excuse. We need to be ready to play on all surfaces and adapt in all weather conditions.

‘Maybe I will have to change the mentality and pattern because it’s an away game.

‘I like to think the game is like chess at times. So without losing the identity, I need to adapt to win.’