Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has admitted he isn’t a fan of plastic pitches ahead of this weekend’s trip to Livingston. However, he insisted that won’t be used as an excuse.
As quoted by the Glasgow Times, Celtic go into the game trying to end a poor run of recent results at the home of Livingston in the last few seasons, but Postecoglou is looking to continue to play his style of play as he faces a new test in Scotland with the surface at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
“Thursday was a classic example of that,” Postecoglou said. “We had plenty of excuses not to try and play football, but we didn’t do that, and that’s the type of team we’re going to be.
“That’s how you build resilience by coming through tests like Thursday. People will look at the result and say we lost, but at 4-2 down, we could’ve folded, but we were trying to score a third and fourth. “It’ll be the same on Sunday, not thinking about the limitations of what we can do but making sure we try and play our football.
“[There wasn’t] really [any artificial pitches] in Australia, and no teams in Japan had artificial pitches. With the national team, we had to play on them a couple of times in Asia, but that’s really all. They all vary depending on what generation they are. It is what it is.
“I’m not sure [if it gives Livingston an advantage]. I assume the team that plays on it regularly might. There’s a natural advantage in playing at home, regardless of the surface. It’s not just the surface; it’s the dimensions of the ground, the crowd, a whole range of things.
“I’m not a fan of them, but I understand why they’ve been brought in. But a game played on natural turf is more of a natural game, for sure.
“We’ve just got to get through it. We weren’t far off on Thursday, and if we persist with what we’re trying to do, the results will come.”
The form on the road against Livingston has been disappointing in recent seasons, with the Hoops not having won there yet since they were promoted.
It is a good chance for Postecoglou to lay down another positive marker in the early days of his era as Celtic boss and pick up his first three points on the road of the season.
That being said, of course, it will be a tough test, especially off the back of Thursday’s fixture against Real Betis.
However, we must go in with full belief and hopefully win the game in a comfortable enough manner.
