Pep Guardiola claimed it is Newport County's prerogative should the minnows wish to dirty their pitch.
Mansfield Town manager David Flitcroft hammered the Rodney Parade surface last week, revealing: 'We won't have to play on another pitch like that this season.'
Guardiola, however, insisted City must 'adapt' to the turf and suggested their win at Tottenham in October will act as perfect practice.
Rodney Parade also hosts rugby and women's internationals, with this tie the 63rd it has hosted this season – the same number City will play throughout the campaign should they go the distance in every competition.
'They can do whatever they want (with the pitch). What they do, they do really well. We've watched as many games as possible.
'We played the Premier League at Tottenham when there were two NFL games three days before. If it happens in the Premier League then why shouldn't it happen lower down?
'I've seen vintage games in England and all the pitches… it was normal. It was impossible to play on the grass. You don't win absolutely anything complaining about that.'
Guardiola namechecked a number of Newport's squad before City made the trip to South Wales on Friday afternoon.
And he has implored his stars to learn from the chastening night at Wigan. 'All of us, we know it'll be so tough,' Guardiola added.
'If we think because it's a lower division then it's a big mistake. Hopefully we've learned from what happened at Wigan.
'Normally in the league my players already know but they didn't know the players. Now they know a little bit.
'They have strikers who score 14-15 goals. They have set pieces, the throw ins. They put the ball into the channels.
'We'll suffer in our box because they are stronger than tougher than us. It'll be about which team controls those areas. Anything can happen. We'll take it seriously.'
No comments:
Post a Comment