SPL

Brendan Rodgers wants an end to artificial pitches in cinch Premiership

By Sports Desk December 08, 2023

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers hopes Sunday’s trip to Rugby Park is among the last few times his team have to play on artificial pitches in the cinch Premiership.

Kilmarnock aim to install a grass pitch in their stadium once their new training ground is up and running, although that is still at the planning application stage.

Reports claim that discussions will be held in the new year over potential rule changes to ban artificial pitches in the top flight.

Livingston manager David Martindale this week claimed that moving from plastic to grass could cost them £2.5million but other teams in the top division would likely welcome a rule change.

Rodgers said: “It’s a constant conversation. It’s clear that every coach would want to play, I’m pretty sure, on a grass pitch.

“The sooner that is the possibility up here then the better it would be for everyone.

“I understand the economics of it all and what it would mean for some clubs, but there should be a certain level or a certain standard of which every team, if you are playing in the top flight, should have a grass pitch.”

Celtic suffered a 1-0 Viaplay Cup defeat on Kilmarnock’s pitch in August, but Rodgers believes his side are better equipped for Sunday’s trip to Ayrshire.

“Certainly where the team is at now is a far different place to back then,” Rodgers said.

“It was probably a good time to play us with players coming in and the challenges we had. It’s a different team – the structure and attitude is different.

“That doesn’t mean it’s going to be an easy game. Derek (McInnes) has really put his team in a good place in the top six and they are hard to beat.”

Oh Hyeon-gyu affirmed his hopes of playing in the Asian Cup in January after netting two goals in Wednesday’s 4-1 win over Hibernian in only his second start under Rodgers.

With Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda also in the running for the Japan squad, Rodgers is poised to go into the transfer market for a striker and his club were this week linked with a move for Aberdeen’s Bojan Miovski.

“It will depend,” he said, when asked about his plans for a new striker in January. “Clearly we are trying to anticipate over the last few months the guys that will go away to the Asian Cup.

“Clearly if Daizen is away, Kyogo is away and Oh is away, we would have to do something in the market.”

Mikey Johnston was also given a rare start against Hibs but Rodgers told the winger in a post-match media interview that he had to “do more”.

When asked about how to get the best out of players, Rodgers said: “That’s always the challenge of a coach. You are having to find many different ways to do it but, of course, you are always best being honest.

“Mikey knows that. The reason Mikey is still here, from the summer, is because I rate him as a player. I could easily have put him out on loan but I know his talent and I want to do everything I possibly can to allow him to maximise that talent.

“He has made great strides in his training performance just in terms of his consistency, and made an impact coming off the bench, but I know how much he wants to play for Celtic and start for Celtic.

“I know he was disappointed himself the other night. But without forcing it you hope you can see his qualities on a regular basis.

“He is a very, very talented player, one of the very best to come out of the academy here in terms of talent, individual quality, one v one, speed, he’s got stronger as well.

“But he’s not a baby anymore. He is 24 and if you want to start regularly for Celtic you have to have a robustness, you have to be mentally strong, you have to be competitive and physically brave.”

Related items

  • Campion College, Hydel book quarterfinal berths as former champions STGC, Wolmer's Boys, STATHS miss out Campion College, Hydel book quarterfinal berths as former champions STGC, Wolmer's Boys, STATHS miss out

    Campion College and Hydel High booked their spots in the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Digicel Manning Cup quarterfinal round after both registered 1-0 wins over St Jago and Wolmer’s Boys in their respective second round group encounters on Friday.

    The win for Campion College saw them finish second in Group One on six points, behind reigning champions Mona High, who blanked many times champion St George’s College 3-0 to finish on maximum nine points.

    St George’s placed third on three points and missed out on the quarterfinal along with St Jago, who ended without point. However, both will have a shot at the Walker Cup knockout title.

    The same is true for perennial semi-finalist St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) and 10-time winners Wolmer's Boys, who were both eliminated from the Manning Cup.

    Wolmer’s Boys’ loss to Hydel saw them finish at the foot of Group Three with a point, while STATHS’ 1-0 win over group winners Kingston College was not enough to see them through. They finished third on four points, as Kingston College and Hydel took the top two spots with six points each.

    Kingston College, Campion College, Mona High and Hydel are joined by Group Four leaders St Catherine (six points) and Group Two leaders Excelsior (six points) in the quarterfinal, with Jamaica College, Tivoli Gardens and Eltham on the hunt for the other two spots.

    Friday’s results

    Campion College 1, St Jago 0

    Mona High 3, St George’s College 0

    Hydel High 1, Wolmer’s Boys 0

    STATHS 1, Kingston College 0

    Saturday’s fixtures

    St Catherine vs Jamaica College

    Calabar vs Charlie Smith

    Excelsior vs Jonathan Grant

    Tivoli Gardens vs Eltham

    *All games are scheduled for 3:00pm

  • Sounders in control of their playoff destiny but must find ruthless edge, says Schmetzer Sounders in control of their playoff destiny but must find ruthless edge, says Schmetzer

    Brian Schmetzer believes the Seattle Sounders are in control of their playoff destiny after edging out the Houston Dynamo in Game 1 of their best-of-three series.

    After a goalless encounter, the Sounders held their nerve in the shootout, scoring all five spot-kicks before Erik Sviatchenko's miss proved costly.

    They also stopped their opponents from registering a single shot on target, marking the fourth time the Sounders have achieved that milestone in a playoff match, and will be looking to do the same in their second encounter.

    "Right now it doesn't matter how we played, really. We're in control and we won,” Schmetzer said. "This was going to be a tight series because the two teams are very good defensively.

    "We've had our challenges this year sometimes scoring goals. Did we create enough? Those are all valid questions. Again, I would just repeat that those guys put the effort in. We were close on a couple of occasions."

    Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei is also on the verge of history, with his shutout in the first game his 14th playoff clean sheet, needing one more to go level with LA Galaxy’s Kevin Hartman for the MLS record.

    "Stef has an opportunity in Houston to tie for number one [all-time]," Schmetzer pointed out.

    "So that's a goal that he can reach, he can attain, and let's see if he can do that. Because that would give us the best chance of ending the series in Houston."

    For Houston, meanwhile, their cruel defeat in Game 1 was partly down to their own doing, so says head coach Ben Olsen.

    The Dynamo boss acknowledged his side did not do enough in the final third, not helped by Adalberto Carrasquilla’s red card, which will see him miss the upcoming encounter.

    Though the performance did not come as a surprise to Olsen, given the two sides’ defensive record in the regular season, he wants to see improvements at the Shell Energy Stadium this time around.

    “It was hardly surprising. They are the best defensive team in the league. We are also one of the better defensive teams in the league, but then you add the playoffs to it,” Olsen said.

    “It’s a heightened game of being alert defensively. You have these kind of games in the playoffs. We didn’t do enough to create better opportunities for ourselves to win that game.

    “Some of that is our doing, some of it is that we’re playing a good defensive team. I said this leading up to the game, we are not going to get a lot of chances.

    “We may get a few big ones and you have to finish them. It will be a similar situation at home, they are not going to turn into a bad defensive team overnight.”

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Houston Dynamo – Amine Bassi

    In a team that is not filled with goals, Bassi has impressed for Houston, with his 10 goal involvements (three goals, six assists) in the regular season, a total only bettered by Ibrahim Aliyu (10) for the Dynamo.

    The Moroccan also created more chances (79) than any of his team-mates, and his creative flair will be needed to unlock the Sounders’ defence.

    Seattle Sounders – Albert Rusnak

    Rusnak has played a starring role for Seattle this term, with only Jordan Morris (17) scoring more goals in the regular season for the Sounders than the Slovakian.

    Despite not hitting the back of the net in Game 1, Rusnak notched four goal involvements (two goals, two assists) in three games heading into the postseason.

    MATCH PREDICTION: HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN

    The Dynamo have lost only two of their 18 all-time home playoff matches (W12 D4), though one of those defeats was against Seattle in the 2017 Conference Finals. Houston won nine of their first 10 home playoff matches but have won just three of eight since (D4 L1).

    Seattle, however, have won six of their last seven away matches, including the last three in a row, all with clean sheets. This is the second time they have kept three straight away clean sheets in all competitions since joining MLS in 2009, also doing so between June and July 2011.

    They have also lost only two of their last 23 matches against the Dynamo in all competitions, including securing a shootout win after a scoreless draw at home in Game 1. Houston have also failed to score in 12 of their last 18 meetings with the Sounders.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Houston Dynamo – 42.1%

    Draw – 26.7%

    Seattle Sounders – 31.2%

  • Stuttgart stalemate delivered 'most complete' display, insists Alonso Stuttgart stalemate delivered 'most complete' display, insists Alonso

    Xabi Alonso believes Bayer Leverkusen delivered their most complete performance in the Bundesliga despite being held to a goalless draw against Stuttgart on Friday. 

    Leverkusen missed the chance to close the gap at the summit of the league table, despite dominating proceedings at the BayArena throughout. 

    The hosts twice struck the woodwork in either half through Edmond Tapsoba and Victor Boniface, while Florian Wirtz was denied by a wonderful stop from Alexander Nubel late on.

    Leverkusen ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.19 compared to Stuttgart's 0.28, further emphasising the superiority they had over their opponents. 

    The result saw Alonso's side produce their second-highest underperformance in terms of their xG since the Spaniard took over the club in 2022, though the Leverkusen boss was happy with his side's display. 

    "We are unhappy. We thought we had done enough to win it," Alonso said. "We pressed well. Our players showed a lot of energy to press a lot.

    "We created a lot of chances in the first half. But we also had chances in the second half."

    "Maybe the most complete performance from us even though we did not score. It was a top game.

    "From Monday we focus on Liverpool. A big game, to play in Anfield," said the former Liverpool player.

    But Leverkusen's struggles away from home continued. Alonso's side have now just won one of their last five league games, drawing the other four. 

    They remained third in the Bundesliga table, but are now four points behind RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich, who now both have a game in hand.

    "It is still early in the season," Alonso said when asked about the growing gap with the league leaders. "There are enough games. We want to keep going."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.