Manchester United vs AZ Alkmaar: Plastic pitch is one of 'worst ever', says Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
United worried poor quality of surface may cause injuries
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Your support makes all the difference.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has raised concerns about the standard of the plastic pitch for Manchester United’s Europa League group game against AZ Alkmaar.
Solskjaer described the surface at the Cars Jeans Stadion in The Hague as “one of the worst” he has seen, despite being used to artificial pitches in his native Norway.
Paul Pogba has not travelled with the United squad in order to rest and receive further treatment on an ankle problem, and his manager is concerned further injuries could follow on Thursday night.
“I’m surprised they’ve chosen to play on this pitch when I’ve looked at it,” he said. ”I’m used to it from Norway. It’s not the best I’ve seen.
“It’s one of the worst ones I’ve seen for a long while. We’ve al got standards ack home in Norway anyway. It’s safe, I’m not saying it’s not. It’s not the newest.
“It’s just on the floor so on the carpet more or less, so when you pull the grass up you do that loads, there’s more bounce.
“It seems like it’s been used a lot but with my knees I’ve not enjoyed astro turf anyway.
“I’m surprused that in this climate you have to use astro turf. It’s OK when you live in the North Pole like we more or less do in Norway and can’t play in March, November or December. But here, I’m surprised.”
United played on an artificial pitch in their opening Champions League game of last season, winning 3-0 away to Young Boys. Juan Mata, who played in that game as a substitute, called on his team-mates to adapt to the conditions.
"It's a completely different game [to Young Boys] but we need to start from the beginning ready for them. They're [AZ Alkmaar] use to playing in these conditions and from the beginning they will be dangerous.
"We will train today to try and adapt to the pitch and hopefully after the game we can not say it was an excuse and we've won the three points."
Alkmaar are currently playing their home matches in The Hague, some 52 miles away from where they are based, after part of the roof at the AFAS Stadium collapsed in August.
Fierce winds caused the Molenaar Stand to cave in on itself. Nobody was injured in the incident.
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