Celtic head to the plastic pitch of Rugby Park on Sunday looking to avoid a third successive defeat on that particular surface.
Hoops defender Jozo Simunovic has given his verdict on synthetic pitches, and the centre-back hopes that the surfaces are outlawed sooner rather than later.
“I think all players feel the same, and for me in professional football, they need to take them out. It’s very simple” he told the Herald.
“It is not natural grass, and we are professional footballers. We should play on natural grass.”
The Hoops have found the going tough in their last two visits to Rugby Park, losing 2-1 earlier this season and 1-0 last season.
The issue of artificial surfaces has come up due to recent events involving PFA Scotland.
The players union took a petition of its members and found that the majority of players wanted the surface banned.
That hasn’t gone down well with the clubs who have artificial pitches, as Livingston boss Gary Holt claimed that he ‘didn’t give two hoots‘ about the petition.
Celtic have found the difficult on the surface this season. However, the Hoops should still have enough good players to overcome that hurdle.
It will be interesting to see if Brendan Rodgers risks any players who are returning from injury on the surface.
Rodgers might have second thoughts about that, particularly after two players – Dedryck Boyata and Kristoffer Ajer – suffered injuries on the surface in the 1-0 loss to Kilmarnock last season.
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