Host Ricki Neill was joined by ex-Rangers players Ian Durrant and Derek Ferguson on the most recent edition of the Blues Brothers Podcast during which the panel discussed all of the latest Rangers news and they spent some time looking ahead to the Gers’ next Premiership game during the show.
Rangers are set to take on Kilmarnock away from home in the league next Sunday after their clash with Lech Poznan this Thursday in the UEFA Europa League.
The Glasgow-based club are still unbeaten in Scotland’s top-flight 12 games into the 2020/21 campaign but while discussing Rangers’ next Premiership fixture during this recent edition of the Blues Brothers Podcast, Ferguson shared some concern about the artificial surface at Kilmarnock’s Rugby Park and how it may have a negative impact on the Gers’ game.
He said: “The thing that worries me a wee bit with going to Rugby Park is that surface. It is a leveller. For me, I’d be looking at the weather because I hope it’s raining, at least it’ll be a wee bit more slick – we need that.
“Our game is about pace, that’s what we’ve got in the final third, that’s what I like about us. We can be quite methodical up to a certain point, then we go through the gears, then we’ve got that change of pace, then we’ve got guys that can get past people and that surface sometimes doesn’t allow you to do that.”
Are you concerned about the surface at Rugby Park ahead of next Sunday's game?
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TIF Thoughts on what Ferguson had to say about the surface at Rugby Park…
It may be understandable why Ferguson thinks that the surface at Rugby Park may have a negative impact on Rangers in next Sunday’s game, considering that they are known to find life more difficult on artificial pitches, with Gers left-back Borna Barisic stating as much prior to the Glasgow-based club’s trip to Livingston’s Tony Macaroni Arena back in August, which is one of only two games in which the Gers have dropped points in the league this season.
Additionally, Rangers boss Gerrard has been an outspoken critic of artificial pitches during his time in Scotland, with the 40-year-old having previously named Rugby Park as the worst pitch he’s “ever walked on.”
As per The Daily Record, Gerrard has shared concerns about players’ safety on these surfaces and he has declared that “you can’t play your normal game” on artificial pitches.
So, perhaps Ferguson is right to have some concerns over the surface at Rugby Park ahead of next Sunday’s game.