Belgian tactician Tom Saintfiet, who is now in charge of the Eagles of Mali, says he is not a type of coach who dwells too much on pitches.
For him, any pitch presents same level of playing ground for two teams and so it does not give advantage to one over the other.
Asked at the pre-FIFA World Cup qualifier presser on Sunday, September 7, the former Gambia coach said 10 or 20 years ago, pitches were different but football was played, nonetheless.
“I’m not the type of coach who talks about pitches and circumstances,” he told journalists in Accra.
“The pitch is for both teams, the same level.
“Ten years ago we played on different pitches, 20 years ago we played on different pitches.”
Tom Saintfiet told the story of how grass on a pitch was uncut for a game against Algeria while he was coach of The Gambia.
He said everyone was surprised he held the Fennecs to a draw.
“Pitches have no influence, we have no influence on pitches,” he emphasized.
“We play [Monday] on any pitch and we will play a good game with our potential.”
This comes in contrast to Otto Addo’s gripe last week about the pitch on which the Black Stars were held to a 1-1 draw by Chad.
According to the Ghana manager, the AstroTurf was too hard for his players and felt like concrete, reason why they dropped points.
The four-time African champions are seeking to extend their lead in Group I as they host the Eagles Monday night.
They have 16 points and could go four points clear with a win.
