Charlie Christie - Artificial surfaces need to be pitch perfect
The Scottish Championship next year could prove difficult for a lot of players, and not just because it is renowned for being a highly competitive league.
After the relegation of Hamilton and Kilmarnock, we will now see four of the 10 clubs playing on artificial surfaces and I am sure a large majority of players will not welcome the additional matches on plastic.
Whilst technology has advanced significantly since the early sand based artificial pitches, they are still not comparable to playing on a natural grass surface.
In wet conditions these pitches are usually bearable given that the ball will move quickly and consistently on the surface but in hot, dry conditions they are horrible.
I am not against the use of artificial pitches and can see the commercial sense in having them but there needs to be stricter regulation of the standard and type of pitch laid and the rules regarding maintenance and match day preparation of them.
Dundee were worthy winners of the Premiership play off final this week and completely dominated Kilmarnock over the two legs resulting in them returning to the top flight after just two years in the Championship and huge credit to them.
Whilst manager James McPake has been given excellent resources from his board, he still had to get the job done and given the continual question marks over his abilities throughout the season, he will feel very good this week as his experienced squad did him proud.
Kilmarnock, meanwhile, will have a significant rebuild job on their hands with many of their players out of contract and it will be interesting to see how they react to their first relegation in 28 years.
At ICT we received some superb news this month when the Scotland under 21 squad was announced for the double header against Northern Ireland in early June.
The list of players included four of our players – a first ever for us and an incredible achievement. Three of those players are home grown with only Robbie Deas having been brought in from elsewhere and I had great pleasure in relating this fact to the club’s Academy coaches at our meeting this week.
All four lads will be rightfully delighted with their call-up and the experience can certainly help them going forward in their
careers.
On a personal level I then watched the announcement of the Scotland European Championship squad which included son Ryan and I was delighted for him.
I know what it means to him to play for his country and to be part of the squad that plays in our first major championships for 22 years is a phenomenal achievement. I immediately called him, and I could hear the excitement in his voice.
During the call we also discussed the unfortunate players who were missing out on being selected for the squad playing this summer.
When Ryan told me he had contacted Ryan Jack, Kenny MacLean, Liam Palmer and Olly McBurnie to offer his sympathies I was even more proud!
I reminded him to savour every minute.
I told him that, if he scores the winner against the ‘Auld Enemy’ at Wembley I might even buy him lunch the next time he’s home – here’s hoping!