Celtic supporters now have another plastic pitch to look forward to next season after the promotion of Livingston.
Kilmarnock and Falkirk also have the same synthetic surface that has caused various problems for Celtic’s players over the years.
David Martindale was a staunch defender of the playing surface when Livingston were in the Scottish Premiership before they were relegated two seasons ago.
Now back in Scotland’s top-flight, the Livingston boss has issued a grovelling apology to Celtic hero Chris Sutton and the rest of the SPFL for his comments.
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David Martindale’s pitch apology to Celtic icon Chris Sutton and the SPFL
The pitch at Livingston has long been derided by Celtic fans and many clubs across Scotland and used as an explainer as to why players like Cameron Carter-Vickers could not play on the surface.
And now, a year on, Martindale has realised the error of his judgement of defending the pitch and has now retracted his comments.
Martindale told The Scottish Sun, “I owe certain media pundits a wee bit of an apology and maybe the SPFL and I’ll explain why.
“Chris Sutton had a bit of a go about the park. Do you know what? I now agree with him. When the pitch got put down in 2018 I was the one constant that has always been here.
“I never saw the deterioration in the pitch, really. I had a bit of a go at the SPFL at the tail end of last year too, saying I couldn’t believe they were telling us we’re not getting any Premiership football on that pitch.
“Now that we’ve got a new surface, I need to apologise because I was wrong. The most senior players here who have played or been everywhere, they are all coming to me absolutely glowing about our new surface.
“Did I still think the park we had last year was better than some grass parks I’ve played on? Yes, 100 per cent.
“But can I see the pundits and media gripes about it previously? I would agree with them.
“I was in here and I was working on it, so it was hard for me to see the wood for the trees. I genuinely believed the last couple of years our surface was OK.
“I was wrong in that assertion.”
What Celtic icon Chris Sutton said about Livingston’s pitch returning to the SPFL
Livingston return to Scotland’s top-tier this season with Celtic now looking forward to a minimum of at least one visit to Almondvale.
When Martindale’s side secured their promotion, Sutton summed up Celtic fan feeling to another plastic pitch heading into the Scottish Premiership.
Sutton said on X, ““Three plastic pitches in the Scottish Premiership next season.” with three head-slap emojis.
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
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