Gary Mackay: Hearts can't blame artificial pitches for poor performances

I am not a fan of artificial pitches and I can understand why managers and players don’t like playing on them.

Hearts forward Jamie Walker in action during the 1-1 against Queen of the South on the artificial surface at Palmerston Park last Friday. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

However, they are part and parcel of the modern game and, if and when Hearts hopefully return to the Premiership we’ll be going to places like Hamilton, Livingston and Kilmarnock, so we have to get out of that mindset.

It isn't something I would personally like to play on but we have an astroturf training facility at Heriot Watt so players do have the opportunity to train and practice on it. Yes, a match situation is different but I don’t think pitches should have a real impact because we all start off 11 versus 11.

The home side have a greater understanding of the surface because they play on it regularly but did John McGlynn say how great the pitch was at Tynecastle as to why they beat us? I don't think football surfaces should be used as a reason.

I can understand it being a factor in team selection due to certain players who maybe have joint problems or who have had hamstring problems but I don’t think you can make excuses after the game about a surface.

What could be a mitigating factor, however, is having no crowds and the impact that has on players. One of the reasons players sign for Hearts is because of the support we have both at home and away games so that's not helped performances either.

Players don't have that support at the moment and it will be interesting to see when players in this era look back on their careers how they portray this period of time compared to other times when they’ve had supporters backing.

That is the unanswerable question at the moment – how is it affecting players, managers and coaches. Motivation is part of the coaching staff’s remit but when you stop over the white line it's up to you as an individual, and fans play a part.

That's why Steven Naismith has had such an outstanding and prolonged career because you can tell when he walks over the white line he’s only focused on winning his own individual battle and winning the game. That doesn’t come naturally to everyone. It should but it doesn’t.

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