MX23RW : Monday, February 18 17:10:19

No seeds of doubt in McIntyre's mind about the right playing surface

No seeds of doubt in McIntyre's mind about the right playing surface
© Reuters
Jim says Premiership teams should not face pitch battle.

Dundee manager Jim McIntyre claims there is enough revenue in the top flight to insist on grass pitches.

PFA Scotland has delivered a petition to the Scottish Professional Football League – signed by every player from the nine clubs with grass pitches – calling for artificial surfaces to be banned in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

McIntyre's biggest complaint about the pitches is their inconsistency as he backed the calls ahead of Saturday's trip to face Livingston on their plastic surface at the Tony Macaroni Arena.

McIntyre, who managed Queen of the South for just over a year on an artificial pitch, said:  "It's a different surface. I found it fine but I don't think it should be allowed at the top level.

"I can understand clubs at lower levels putting that in because obviously the revenue it brings, you can rent it out and (it) gives you extra money. But I think at the top level there's enough revenue for grass pitches.

"My big gripe about plastic pitches is they are all different. Kilmarnock's is totally different to Livingston's. Having been to Falkirk several times and Queen of the South this year, they are all completely different.

"If it's going to be allowed it should be the same spec everywhere."

McIntyre accepts there are no conclusive studies showing artificial pitches cause more injuries but he believes anecdotal evidence should be taken into account.

"People ask you whether you are going to train on a plastic pitch leading up to playing on it," he said.

"I wouldn't train on it the whole week because my players aren't used to training on it the whole week, and I know there's a difference to how their bodies feel on a grass pitch.

"At Queen of the South we had to monitor our training times, because it's harder on the body.

"I wasn't a fan of it as a player and I'm still not a fan of it, but I can understand why clubs at a lower level have them."


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Jim McIntyre pictured in March 2016
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City27212474205465
2Liverpool26205159154465
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs26200654252960
4Manchester UnitedMan Utd26156552351751
5Arsenal26155653371650
6Chelsea26155645291650
7Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2611693433139
8Watford2610793434037
9Everton2796123639-333
10West Ham UnitedWest Ham2696113239-733
11Bournemouth26103133747-1033
12Leicester CityLeicester2695123134-332
13Crystal Palace2676132734-727
14Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2676132839-1127
15Burnley2676132947-1827
16Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2667132234-1225
17Cardiff CityCardiff2674152447-2325
18Southampton2659122844-1624
19Fulham2645172558-3317
20Huddersfield TownHuddersfield2625191448-3411

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