Boro could find themselves embroiled in another pitch debate this weekend after Hillsborough’s surface was compared to Blackpool’s battered turf.
Aitor Karanka’s side travel to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday knowing a win could take them back to the top of the Championship table.
The Boro boss was incensed by the state of Blackpool’s pitch earlier this month, branding the Bloomfield Road surface “a disgrace” and “impossible to play on”.
The Spaniard’s remarks led to the Football League demanding an explanation from Blackpool for the club’s shoddy surface.
And the pitch debate could come to the fore again this weekend, with Sheffield Wednesday boss Stuart Gray saying the Hillsborough surface is “on par” with Bloomfield Road.
“The pitch is such a leveller. We trained on it the other day and it’s probably one of the worst pitches that I’ve ever had to train on and the players have had to play on,” Gray told the Sheffield Star earlier this month.
“The last thing we want to be known up and down the country for is not having one of the best pitches. I think Blackpool’s is probably on par with ours at the moment.”
The surface certainly hasn’t helped the Owls’ home form, without a win at Hillsborough since Boxing Day.
Four weeks ago Birmingham drew 0-0 at Hillsborough, but it was the condition of the playing surface that riled Blues manager Gary Rowett after the match.
“I think the pitch had a complete bearing on the game, probably a 100% bearing on the game,” Rowett said.
“I’m not going to sit here and berate Sheffield Wednesday for that pitch but you can’t play football on it and you can’t get the ball down and play.
“I almost embarrassingly said to the players at half-time: ‘Listen, just kick the ball as far as you can down the pitch and just play for seconds and see if you can land on something and break’.
“There was no way you were going to be able to pass the ball up the pitch with any sort of control.
“There were was that much sand, the players might have been better of playing in bare feet or in flip-flops rather than boots.”
The recent comments will hardly be music to the ears of Boro boss Karanka, who was scathing of Blackpool’s playing surface after Boro’s 2-1 win earlier this month.
That match saw defender Daniel Ayala limp off with a muscle injury - something that further irked the Spaniard.
It’s unbelievable,” Karanka said after the match.
“We played on a pitch that was impossible to play on and I think it’s a lack of respect to everybody who plays for a ticket to watch games here.
“My players can feel it in their backs and their legs. The Championship is amazing but it is difficult to understand that teams have to play here.”
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