Aitor Karanka would not welcome the introduction of artificial pitches into English professional football.
Boro will tonight try to overcome Blackpool and their notorious pitch at Bloomfield Road.
Last year, Football League chairmen came close to allowing clubs in League One and Two to install 3G (third generation) ‘plastic’ pitches with a vote on the issue ending in a tie.
Despite the far from ideal conditions awaiting his team at Blackpool, however, Karanka isn’t keen on the idea of playing on artificial surfaces.
“I wouldn’t want that,” he said, “I prefer to play on grass, especially when you don’t have problems with the water (rainfall).
“I don’t like artificial pitches. I played on them in Madrid because in the early rounds of the Copa del Rey, we played against Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
“I also played on those kind of the pitches in the USA, and it is different.
“It was different for me, but maybe the players are growing up now with that kind of surface. But for me, I prefer to play on normal grass.”
Karanka is well aware that Blackpool’s pitch could prove problematic, but won’t use it as an excuse if Boro fail to win tonight.
“I have been analysing Blackpool’s games and the pitch is awful,” he admitted. “That is not an excuse, and if we lose the game, I will not be saying that we lost because the pitch was bad.
“My main concern is that we could get some injuries, and that will be a worry for every team in the league that plays there. It is a difficult situation, but I think that every team should take care with their pitches.
“We might have to change a few things in terms of the way we play, but the players know exactly what they are going to be dealing with.”
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