MX23RW : Wednesday, April 24 00:43:30| >> :600:192798:192798:

Jeremy Toljan believes player concerns over plastic pitches should be heard

The German full-back is set for this first taste of artificial pitches in Scotland when Celtic travel to Kilmarnock on Sunday.

Celtic new boy Jeremy Toljan insists Scottish football needs to listen to player complaints over plastic pitches.

The on-loan Borussia Dortmund full-back is set to get his first taste of action on Kilmarnock's artificial surface on Sunday when the Hoops head to Rugby Park.

But Toljan admits he is stunned that the kind of synthetic turfs on show in Ayrshire as well as at Hamilton and Livingston are allowed in Scotland's top-flight.

The Parkhead first-team have joined with players from the eight other Ladbrokes Premiership clubs who play their home games on grass to sign a PFA Scotland petition demanding artificial turf is outlawed in the top flight.

However, the likes of Accies vice-chairman Les Gray and Livi boss Gary Holt have already been quick to dismiss the players' grumbles by insisting plastic is here to stay.

But Toljan says those putting their bodies on the line must have their voices heard.

"I haven't heard much about the pitch. We only started focusing on the Kilmarnock game after Thursday night's Valencia match," he said.

"I've played on astro before, so it's nothing new for me.

"But in Germany we don't play on these kind of pitches and I think it's better if we play on natural grass.

"For me it's better. It's better for the players' bodies and the quality of the game is better on normal grass.

"I'm a bit surprised to see so many clubs use the astro in Scotland because I think we have the conditions to have real grass here, so we could change that easy.

"Football is a player's game so if the players says it's better to play on grass pitches then we should do it."

Toljan has settled quickly into life under Brendan Rodgers after arriving late in the transfer window on a deal until the end of the season.

He has already edged Swede Mikael Lustig out of the the Northern Irishman's line-up and was one of the few men in green and white to escape Thursday's chastening 2-0 Europa League defeat to Valencia with praise.

But while many among the Parkhead faithful are already hoping an agreement can be struck with Dortmund – where Toljan has featured just once this term – to extend his stay in Scotland, the former Hoffenheim youngster is not looking too far ahead just yet.

The 24-year-old said: "I'm here and focused on playing right now. I'm not thinking about the future.

"I like it here. I'm playing at the moment so I'm happy. It was a difficult time for me at Dortmund but now I'm playing, so I'm just looking forward.

"I cannot talk about (what happens at the end of the season) as I have three more years on my Dortmund contract.

"The atmosphere here is crazy but the atmosphere in Dortmund is also very good, so we'll see. The atmospheres are different but both very good, very supportive and loud.

"It was a disappoint result on Thursday. To lose 2-0 at home is a bad result for us.

"But it hasn't spoiled the mood for me. We cannot win every game and Valencia are a good side. I don't know much about Kilmarnock right now but hopefully we can respond positively on Sunday."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Andy Newport, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '9e62999d-c665-4bee-be83-e84a1716fd92');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Jeremy Toljan believes player concerns over plastic pitches should be heard'});

ID:350523: cacheID:350523:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5750:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Kilmarnock manager Steve Clarke pictured on May 5, 2018
Read Next:
Clarke: Celtic set the standard in Scottish football
>
Read more about Jeremy Toljan Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
10am
Munar
Borges
10am
Navone
Popyrin
10am
Vukic
Daniel
10am
Bouzas Maneiro
Badosa
10am
Davis
Sherif
10am
Putintseva
Yuan
10am
Stephens
Trevisan
10am
Zhu
Jimenez Kasintseva
11.30am
Altmaier
Landaluce
11.30am
Rinderknech
Shevchenko
11.30am
Safiullin
Seyboth Wild
11.30am
Arango
Anisimova
11.30am
Sorribes Tormo
Pera
11.30am
Zhang
Rogers
12pm
Osaka
Minnen
12pm
Vekic
Siegemund
1pm
Darderi
Monfils
1pm
Karatsev
Marozsan
1pm
Van Assche
Bergs
1pm
Linette
Cocciaretto
1pm
Wang
Tomova
1pm
Wang
Dolehide
1.30pm
Dart
Bucsa
1.30pm
Raducanu
Lourdes Carle
2.30pm
Bronzetti
Gracheva
2.30pm
Frech
Cristian
2.30pm
Hibino
Krueger
3pm
Coric
Hassan
3pm
Kokkinakis
Draper
3pm
Nakashima
Bagnis
3pm
Van De Zandschulp
Eubanks
4pm
Baptiste
Saville
4pm
Bejlek
Blinkova
4pm
Errani
Wozniacki
4pm
Montgomery
Avanesyan
4.30pm
Klein
Llamas Ruiz
4.30pm
Burel
Danilovic
5pm
Moutet
Shang
5.30pm
Diaz Acosta
Shapovalov
6pm
Andreeva
Townsend
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
Championship Group
1Celtic000080265478
2RangersRangers000072234975
3Hearts000046341262
4Kilmarnock00004334951
5St Mirren00003843-543
6Dundee00004454-1041
Relegation Group
1Hibernian00004451-739
2Motherwell00004651-537
3Aberdeen00003549-1435
4St Johnstone00002446-2231
5Ross County00003256-2430
6Livingston00002259-3718
 
First Phase
1Celtic33246380265478
2RangersRangers33243672234975
3Hearts33195946341262
4Kilmarnock33131284334951
5St Mirren33127143843-543
6Dundee331011124454-1041
7Hibernian33912124451-739
8Motherwell33813124651-537
9Aberdeen33811143549-1435
10St Johnstone33710162446-2231
11Ross County3379173256-2430
12Livingston3339212259-3718


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!