Ross County goalkeeper Mark Brown will not alter his preparation for today’s Premiership match against Kilmarnock despite the artificial Rugby Park surface.
Killie’s home form has been strong since they installed the Field Turf surface in the summer, having won four out of six league games, although they come into today’s game fresh from a 3-1 defeat by Dundee last weekend.
Brown, who spent six months on loan with the Ayrshire side when he played for Celtic, says the increasing abundance of artificial pitches in Scotland has prompted goalkeepers to adapt.
The 33-year-old believes they often serve as an advantage, given the diminishing quality of grass surfaces in the winter months.
Brown said: “I don’t mind artificial surfaces. In the summer you maybe prefer grass but come winter at least you know what you’re going to get with an artificial pitch. You know what the bounce is going to be. There’s nothing worse for a goalkeeper as the goalmouth is always the first place to get dug up and filled with mud and sand.
“You can’t keep your foot in and sometimes you can’t trust what the bounce is going to be. I know people give them a bad reputation but I think they talk about the old-type artificial pitches that were really hard and sand based.
“They were horrible to play on but these 3G and 4G surfaces are really good. They’re soft and you can change direction. I don’t think there’s any problem on them.”
County used the Rugby Park pitch to train on ahead of their League Cup tie against Stranraer earlier in the season.
Brown is confident that, along with the indoor surface the Staggies use to train in winter, will stand the players in good stead for their trip to Kilmarnock.
He added: “I think the one we’ve got here is a wee bit older, so the one there is probably a better standard of quality.
“We train indoors, usually in the winter because the pitches are bad outside. I don’t have any problems diving about in that. I never pick up any knocks or strains. I know a lot of people maybe don’t like them but I don’t know if sometimes that’s a mentality thing.
“People are maybe a bit defeated before they go on it because it’s an artificial pitch.
“You can’t look at the fact the pitch is artificial as an excuse. It’s just the pitch, it’s the same for both teams. People use it as an excuse when I don’t really think they’ve got the justification to do so.”