Rodgers fumes at Hearts pitch

CELTIC boss Brendan Rodgers slammed the state of the Tynecastle pitch after seeing his side come from behind to beat Hearts 3-1.

The champions initially struggled to adapt to the surface in Edinburgh but in the end flexed their muscles to avenge the 4-0 reverse at the ground earlier in the season that ended their historic unbeaten run.

Despite the win, the state of the pitch came in for heavy criticism from Rodgers, who suggested the grass was too long to allow either side to keep the ball on the floor, something which he feels is damaging to the Scottish game.

“I thought the win was outstanding,” he said. “But I sit a little bit embarrassed because of the pitch.

“Yo u talk about standards, and this is a great club, Hearts, really passionate but I felt really sorry for both sets of players.

“You saw it early on, the ball got thrown out and it stuck in the grass it was that long.

“It’s not just to suit us, I’m talking about football in general. I was disappointed from a footballing perspective.

“It was the first time I said to a team of mine ‘building the game from behind is a huge risk because the ball is getting stuck’, so at half-time I said we had to play a more direct game, and from there we dominated the game.

“From a football perspective and for the spectators, that wasn’t football.”

He added: “This is about standards and the product of Scottish football. I’m talking about for the spectators and the young, gifted players in their team who can’t dribble or pass the ball properly because of the grass.

“If that’s what you want to do, then fine, but it’s not football.”

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers.