YORK CITY boss Gary Mills has made clear his thoughts on 3G pitches ahead of his side’s crucial trip to Sutton United on Saturday.
The Minstermen, second bottom of the National League, are still five points adrift of safety and a win at 16th-placed Sutton would give them a huge boost.
They will, of course, have to contend with the artificial pitch at Gander Green Lane and Mills was critical of the plastic surfaces when asked his views.
Sutton installed their 3G pitch in the summer of 2015 and league rivals Maidstone United also play on an artificial surface.
Mill’s York side have experience of plastic pitches having beaten Harlow Town in the FA Trophy earlier this season but Mills says he’s still far from a fan, suggesting that matches on 3G aren’t a “real game”.
Talking to BBC Radio York in the build up to Saturday’s trip, Mills said: “There’s no doubt that it’s a different game and that playing on 3G is totally different to playing on grass.
“When you pass the ball it runs totally different and when you go longer with the ball it’s different. It’s difficult to shy away from it because it is different.
“We played and won at Harlow in the FA Trophy but theirs wasn’t the best – it was more like the old 3G pitches. I’m thinking Sutton will be different.
“You have to get on with it but I don’t agree with it. I think every ground should be grass still and in this day and age, grass pitches should be OK.”
On the prospect of more clubs moving towards 3G pitches, Mills added: “I hope not because I don’t think it’s a real game. It’s not a proper game of football.
“It’s not what we all like and what we’re all used to. I think it should be a grass pitch full stop but I don’t make the rules and you’ve got to get on with it.
“We’ll go to Sutton and give it our best shot and not use it as an excuse if things don’t go right for us.”
