GVB weighs in on controversial 4G pitch debate

Giovanni van Bronckhorst has surprisingly endorsed plastic pitches (unlike his predecessor) as useful at this time of year, as Rangers prepare to face Annan on their fake surface tomorrow.

The Dutch coach was speaking at his pre-match presser and was asked on his views of resting players given the nature of the surface, but the manager was having none of it and doesn’t intend to rest anyone in light purely of the plastic pitch.

He confirmed both injury-returning Filip Helander and new signing Aaron Ramsey will start, and with both being short of match fitness the boss is putting his money where his mouth is by selecting both players to play on the controversial surface.

In defence of it, for a club the size of Annan, they really don’t have a lot of cash and the maintenance of a real pitch is expensive given their budget. We’re not making excuses but you will see such pitches at lower league football, and League Two certainly qualifies.

But it’s at the top level, your Livis, Killies and Hamiltons that it’s unacceptable for, but Gio’s comments today hints he’s not bothered by such a surface at all.

Still, it’s the same for both teams…