Exclusive:Hibs concerns over 'different' Falkirk challenge explained as plastic pitch and McGlynn magic pose twin threat
‘No excuses’ for Easter Road side sitting just two points clear of Bairns
Not bad. Just different. Very, very different. Amid all the debate about Falkirk’s plastic pitch, complete with warnings of “carnage” and wince-inducing descriptions of the physical toll it takes on players, nobody in the Hibs camp is looking for excuses ahead of Saturday’s potentially crucial Scottish Premiership clash.
David Gray is very clear in his admiration for John McGlynn and the brilliant work he’s done with the Bairns. He’s equally blunt about the threat Falkirk pose to his own team’s lingering hopes of qualifying for European football for the second consecutive season.
But there’s no denying that the artificial surface at Grangemouth is, well, not quite a natural fit for every visiting team. Unpredictable, bouncy … it’s just not comparable to a good grass pitch.
Gray, who reveals how former team-mate Marvin Bartley – who has just left Livingston after serving as a player, coach and then manager – provided him with a helpful tutorial on the differences between man-made and natural playing surfaces, said of the Falkirk pitch: “I think it's not a case of saying how bad it is. It's definitely just how different it is for players.
Paul McGinn predicts ‘carnage’ for visitors
“And I think training and playing on it, if you're on it consistently every day, you develop a bit of a tolerance to it. I think that's definitely something I've noticed when I played.
“We have tough winters in Scotland. So at times you've found yourself on the artificial pitch for two weeks because of a real frost here or a bit of snow or whatever. You develop a tolerance to it.
“Or even when the pitches were waterlogged out here and were really inconsistent, a few years ago before the club invested in them, we spent probably a large period of the winter on the astro. And we all preferred that, purely because it was a consistent surface. And you were staying on it all the time.
“It's when you go from one surface to the next surface to the next surface. Because it is really firm, obviously. So you feel it in ankles, you feel it in knees. And anyone with that sort of issues, the knees and ankles, hips, your back, you start to feel more joint pain rather than muscular stuff.
“And the ball does roll differently. It bounces in differently at times, depending on how wet it is, depending on conditions.”
Told about another former team-mate, Paul McGinn, using the ‘carnage’ description in the wake of Motherwell’s defeat at Falkirk last weekend, a grinning Gray said: “That's Paul, yeah. I actually went to the game and watched it. And it's definitely different. I think players that play on it all the time have an understanding at times of how the ball's going to bounce.
“And Marvin Bartley was a really good person to explain that to me. Because he went to Livingston.
“And when he went, people were saying: ‘Oh, I doubt Marv's going to get on in the astro …’ Not speaking out of turn, but he wasn’t the greatest mover on the grass!
“Especially after 90 minutes, if you saw him on the Monday or Tuesday. Especially at the latter stages of his career.
“But he said that, once you've built up that sort of tolerance, it changes. And also, within games, players that don't play on it all the time sometimes go for balls that you know they're not going to get.
“So the ball will go into the channel, for example, and the striker might make a run, and he was like: ‘That's not going into the channel, it's not going to go as far in.’ You get used to how the ball will bounce and things like that.
“So there is definitely that as well, that you have to contend with. And I think that just adds a little bit of doubt sometimes, because of the surface.
“But within that, it's not an excuse. The players are playing on it enough. I'm well prepared on what we want to do.
“You need to put a game plan in place because of the pitch. Sometimes it's not on to play higher risk football. You maybe take a bit of risk out of it.
“That's not to say you're just banging forward, but there is also sensible football that needs to be played, and the pitch is the same for both players. You just need to adapt on the day.”
Falkirk ‘deserve’ to be in Euro qualification hunt
Gray is an avowed admirer of McGlynn, whose work in guiding Falkirk into a top-six finish on their return to the top flight has earned widespread recognition. And put the Bairns within two points of fifth-placed Hibs.
“John's done an incredible job,” said the Hibs boss. “And he was rightly a manager of the year contender for what he's done, again, winning promotion back-to-back and with the players he's brought right through. And how he's added to that as well.
“A lot of people speak about the players that have been and played in all the leagues. Brad Spencer and Dylan Tait are the examples.
“But also the recruitment. He's done really well with the players he's brought in that have added to that core of boys, that have had that mentality of winning games over a period.
“And they're where they are because they deserve to be. They've done really well this season. And it'll be a real difficult game for us.
“Right now, our mindset is still always about trying to catch in front of you, but Falkirk's incentive is going to be to try and catch us. They can do that this weekend. And then you're only two games left.
“The players are aware of it. We spoke about what we want to do this season and the points between now and the end of the season and what we might think we might need, relying on Motherwell to drop points if we’re to catch them.
“But first and foremost, everything is all about this weekend. If you can go and win the game this weekend, you've done your job.
“You've taken care of exactly what we need to do and then what else happens elsewhere. Because I'm sure there'll be more twists than turns.”