Wednesday, 21 August 2013 10:00 Plenty To Ponder Written by Andrew Dickson Plenty To Ponder ALLY McCOIST admits the artificial surface will have a bearing on what sort of side he selects to play Airdrie in this Friday’s League One fixture. Emilson Cribari is making good progress as he comes back from a groin injury which has troubled him lately. But McCoist concedes a reluctance to bring the Brazilian back on a tricky surface – and he’s not the only player he’s wary about playing. Dean Shiels was a starter for the first time in more than five months on Saturday at Stranraer but is lacking match fitness as he continues building up strength. David Templeton, meanwhile, is receiving continued treatment on the hamstring which kept him out of action in recent weeks. Ross Perry and Kyle Hutton are the only players definitely out as things stand, although both are now about three weeks from returning to action. McCoist will be restricted once again by the fact he can only play two of his new players as trialists against the Diamonds due to the fact they are not yet registered. “I’ve made view on artificial surfaces clear: I’m not a fan of them. You do get some that are better than others but generally speaking, I’m a believer football should be played on grass." That fact in itself gives him a limited pool to work with but he doesn’t want to risk further problems by fielding players he feels could have issue with the New Broomfield pitch. McCoist said: “The park is something that’s part and parcel of facing some teams in the lower leagues and we have to get used to that. “I’ve made view on artificial surfaces clear: I’m not a fan of them. You do get some that are better than others but generally speaking, I’m a believer football should be played on grass. “We’ve played on these types of pitches enough now though that we should know what to expect and it’s a little bit of a leveller. “The surface will play a big part in who we bring back on Friday and we’ll have to take a look at Emilson. “He is coming along nicely but I have to take the pitch into account. I’ll maybe have a wee chat with Shielsy as well. He’s fit but he’s just coming back from an injury. “Let’s not forget David also suffered a very serious injury on that kind of pitch down at Annan last year. There are a lot of things to weigh up.” ....shiz
Posted on: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 11:00:25 +0000
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