Brendan Rodgers has explained why the pitch at Livingston can be such a pain for Celtic.
The artificial surface at the Tony Macaroni Arena has caused us many an issue since it was brought in after Livingston‘s promotion to the top flight in 2018.
Tomorrow will be our eighth match on the much-criticised pitch. Our previous seven visits have seen us chalk up two wins, three draws and two defeats. (Celtic Fitba Stats)
While those two victories have arrived in our most recent visits, and both have been convincing, Saturday’s game is still likely to give most Celtic supporters an uneasy feeling. A good part of that is down to the pitch making it harder for the team.
“There are always challenges with the surface,” Rodgers told The Herald in the lead-up to the game. “I remember being up here before and the away games were a challenge. We were on a run of games where we’d scored a load of goals and went to play Livingston and drew 0-0.
“It’s the pitch – the speed of the game is a lot slower. If your defence is packed out then in order to move teams around that have low blocks and lots of bodies there, you are relying on the speed of the pitch. Because the quicker the ball moves, the quicker they need to move.
“If it’s a slow pitch, they don’t have to move quite the same. Then that density makes it really difficult. You could put 11 teachers, journalists or bin men in there and it’s a challenge. You have to get over that.”
So there we have it, the pitch makes it harder for Celtic to move the ball quickly, and that benefits Livingston as a result. That doesn’t mean we have any excuses though.
Under Ange Postecoglou, the team had real intent in those past two wins in West Lothian. Passes were fired at team-mates, and things were done in one or two touches rather than three or four.
A slight worry about this game is that, under Rodgers, the team are yet to show that fast, attacking football they were famed for under the previous manager. There were signs of it returning in the second half against Dundee, but we need to see it more often.
The emphasis will be on the likes of Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate and Matt O’Riley to bring real drive to our play. The full-backs have also been big players in our previous two wins.
After the disappointment in midweek, it would be great to see the team respond with a big performance and victory. However, at grounds like this, sometimes simply winning is enough.
In other news, Celtic team news ahead of the match
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
