Celtic full-back Mark Wilson has called for improvements to be made to the "shocking" Hampden pitch before the Scottish Cup semi-finals.
Wilson was disappointed with the state of the surface during his team's Co-operative Insurance Cup final defeat against Rangers last month and he hopes the situation is remedied before Celtic face Aberdeen on April 17. However, with Motherwell facing St Johnstone at the national stadium 24 hours earlier, there may be more disappointment in store for Wilson.
"It was a shocking surface for a final, especially between the Old Firm and the amount of publicity from the Scottish Cup game," said Wilson. "There were always going to be a lot of eyes on that, especially from down south, because it's the showpiece game for Scottish football. So I thought the Hampden surface would have definitely been better than it was."
He added: "Both teams had to play on it so no excuses about the result but it would have been nice to play on a good surface.
"It would be nice just because it is your national stadium and you don't often get the chance to play there.
"When you're going there you are expecting a bit of an occasion and something to remember.
"When you go out on the grass and see it's patchy and the ball bobbles everywhere, it is a bit disappointing. You would definitely enjoy it more if it was a great surface.
"Hopefully it will be better than it was in the cup final because I have played at Hampden a few times and that was one of the worst I have seen it."
Source: PA
