Brendan Rodgers isn’t a fan of plastic pitches and made that clear before his last Celtic visit to Livingston.
The Hoops are back in action this Saturday, looking to make it three wins in a row at the previously problematic Tony Macaroni Arena.
The stadium has been the venue for many a dropped point in recent years, with two of them occurring in the final season of Rodgers‘ first spell in Glasgow.
Back in November 2018, the Hoops were held to a goalless draw by newly-promoted Livingston. It was the start of a frustrating run that saw us go four games without a win at the stadium, including two losses.
The artificial surface is not what Celtic are used to, and that has undoubtedly contributed to some of the darker days.
We’ve managed to overcome it to win our last two visits by an aggregate scoreline of 6-1. But, speaking before that game in 2018, the Hoops boss went on the offensive about why pitches like that shouldn’t be allowed in the Scottish Premiership.
“I have always said that, for me, the Premiership is the flagship of Scottish football — and there should NOT be astroturf pitches in it,” he told the Scottish Sun.
“It’s as simple as that. If this is the flagship league, which it is, we shouldn’t have it. I also think that the teams that do have them probably need some help as well.
“They obviously need to generate money, that’s why they do it. But let’s see if government, if councils, can help the teams that have them find an artificial pitch somewhere else close by — and let the main stadiums be grass.
“Like I say, we are trying to promote a level and a standard.”
Rodgers will likely be asked about the conditions at the Tony Macaroni whenever he meets the media ahead of the fixture. That’s the way these things work in Scotland. You can probably expect to read about some of the same things over the next 48 hours.
The surface won’t be used as an excuse for Celtic though. Our performances over those Ange Postecoglou-led victories were excellent. On both occasions, we were right on our game. We’ll need to see the same levels on Saturday.
Otherwise, it could be a challenging afternoon.
In other news, former Celtic star nets in Champions League as Tierney impresses and Juranovic suffers more Madrid pain
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