STEVE Clarke, the Kilmarnock manager, described the latest debate about plastic pitches as “boring” and insisted the club won’t be forced into ripping up their controversial surface.

PFA Scotland revealed this week that every player outwith the three clubs with an artificial pitch want them gone.

Clarke did not feel the need to go over old ground but made it clear that Kilmarnock will take little notice of the arguments being put forth by the players’ union.

He said: “There are rules in place and, until someone really important tells us that those rules have changed then I don’t see the need for us to sit here and discuss plastic pitches.

"I’ve already said what I have to say about them in August and again in October. I can’t discuss the subject every month because it’s boring.

“In an ideal world we would have our own training centre in east Ayrshire before we put a grass pitch back down on Rugby Park. I think £10m is a pretty conservative figure and that money isn't in the game up here, unfortunately.”

Clarke has claimed there was a hysterical reaction to Alan Power’s challenge on Rangers' Ryan Jack.

He said: "Someone said he could have knocked Ryan Jack's eye out. I Googled it. Nobody has ever lost an eye from a high boot on a football pitch, so the hysteria can die down."

And striker Michael Ndjoli insisted those club who want Rugby Park, Livingston and Hamilton to return to grass use this topic as an excuse when they lose at those grounds.

Ndjoli believes that many of the complainers use the unpopular artificial surface as an excuse when they drop points at Rugby Park.

He said: “With players, there will always be an excuse. Whether it is the ref, whether it is the pitches, whatever. The pitch is too wide, it’s too long, and the grass isn’t cut properly. It just comes down to mind-set, really.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve heard quite a lot of clubs talk about the pitches. I can’t speak about years gone by, but I’m sure they were not as angry about it as they are now.

“Because you are doing well as a team with the smaller details and what you are doing as a whole, it gets questioned more. When teams are complaining about the 3G pitches, we have to train on one all week and then go and play on a grass pitch.

“It could be Dundee away, it could be Celtic away, or Rangers. Each of those pitches will be different. It’s just about if you want to win the game. Is it an excuse for some? 100 per cent.

“It’s an easy excuse. When we lost 5-1 at Celtic, we could have said the same thing about training all week on 3G and then playing on grass. It’s just different in terms of club set ups.

“I’ve never heard us complain about it. If you bring it to light, we are doing the same thing that every team are doing, just the other way around.

“Rugby Park is a beautiful stadium. It is big and I don’t think the pitch is bad, if I am being honest with you. If teams get a result, you don’t see them complaining about the pitch.”