Stranraer boss says ‘I’ll get the digger out’ ahead of Cup game

Stranraer manager Brian Reid has joked about the surface at Stair Park ahead of their Scottish Cup tie with Celtic.

The League One side boss will welcome the Scottish champions on Sunday in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup and will look to get every advantage possible.

Reid joked about the quality of the Stair Park playing surface ahead of the game, as quoted by the Daily Record.

He jokingly said:

It’s probably not Premiership standard but it’s in decent enough shape. Maybe I’ll get out with the digger and cut the pitch up a bit more this week.

It’s a tight, muddy pitch and the conditions might not be what they are used to.

The pitch is pretty heavy, like surfaces all over the country at this level, but it’s not the worst.

This will do little to Ronny Deila’s Bhoys who are accustomed to a slick playing surface to play expansive football.

However, in recent games, Celtic haven’t been playing the free-flowing football Deila has instilled in his players so a more direct approach is something they may have to adopt.

Reid still isn’t convinced now is a good time to play Celtic, because of the quality they possess.

You sometimes don’t want the surface to be a bowling green for teams like Celtic.

I don’t know if there is a good time to be playing against Celtic. They might not be firing on all cylinders but I don’t read too much into that.

They’ll be thinking about coming down here and getting a comfortable win with a few goals and a bit of confidence back.

We are under no illusions about how tough it will be.

The game will kick-off this Sunday (January 10th) at 3.15pm, and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports One.