Paul Hartley admits plastic pitch helped Alloa to win Divison Three title

Alloa Athletic manager Paul Hartley admits the club's plastic pitch gives them a home advantage.©SNS Group

Alloa boss Paul Hartley admits having a synthetic pitch at Recreation Park gave his side an advantage as they won the Division three title.

The Wasps cruised to the title last season with an exceptional home record under Hartley.

The former Scotland midfielder admitted that being used to the 3G surface gave the Clachmannanshire side outfit an edge over opponents.

Speaking to the Scottish Sun, Hartley said: “If you look at our home record it was such an advantage to us. We’re used to playing on it.”

A number of new synthetic pitches have been installed in Scotland in recent years, with Stenhousemuir and East Stirlingshire’s shared Ochilview, Annan’s Galabank, Station Park in Forfar, Clyde’s Broadwood Stadium, Links Park in Montrose and Airdrie’s New Broomfield all boasting the surface.

Hartley’s former club Celtic will face HJK Helsinki on a plastic pitch in the Champions League qualifier in Finland on Wednesday night, and Hartley said that the players will have to ensure they do not make the unusual turf an excuse for them.

He said: “They’ll have trained on it so I don’t think they’ll have any problems.

“The surface will be true, so they just have to deal with it and not make it an excuse.

“Plastic pitches have changed over the years and the surfaces are much better now. You can’t focus on the pitch, you’ve got to focus on trying to do the job.”

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