ANGE POSTECOGLOU has hit out at the state of the Hampden pitch after his side beat Kilmarnock at the national stadium, with the Celtic manager hoping the SFA manage to fix it before his team return there for the League Cup final in late February.
Celtic eventually shook off a dogged Kilmarnock in a keenly contested semi-final in atrocious weather conditions in Mount Florida, as goals from Daizen Maeda and Giorgis Giakoumakis were enough to see them through.
But Postecoglou was critical of the surface at Hampden that – coupled with the inclement weather – made it difficult for either side to play their best football.
“You can’t control the weather in Scotland but I’m disappointed in the state of the pitch, I thought it would be better,” Postecoglou said.
“You know when you come to Hampden it’s a showpiece event and you want the conditions to be the best they can be.
“Even when I walked out before the game, I was disappointed in the pitch. It’s going to be tough for the two teams on Sunday.
“If you’re going to have showpiece events when everyone’s watching under the spotlight, you want to present it in the best condition.
“I’m not sure how much football they’ve had on the pitch or what the situation is. But for a cup semi-final you want the best conditions possible.
“It didn’t have great grass coverage and didn’t hold very well. I went to Motherwell’s pitch recently and it was perfect.
“You would [hope it would be fixed for the final] because all eyes are on these games, and you want them to be presented in the best possible manner because it presents the whole competition in a good light.
“I don’t know the background to it. Maybe they have had some issues with the pitch or maybe they have had a lot of football on it.
“When you have a venue like this, one designed for big games, you hope it is presented well.”
Postecoglou was pleased though with the way his men dug deep in such circumstances and found a way to win.
“It was a battle, an arm wrestle in a cup semi-final played in trying conditions,” he said.
“We were never going to get open space or be able to play through them. Their application to their game didn’t allow us.
“But our ultimate goal and ambition was to do what we had to do to win, and this team has consistently done that. That’s why we’re in this position and rarely lose. Because whatever is thrown at us, this group of players find a way of getting the job done.
“We showed desire, discipline, structure.”
