Villa boss O'Neill blasts CSKA's plastic pitch

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has slammed the plastic pitch of UEFA Cup opponents CSKA Moscow.

He said: "First of all, if they think the pitch is perfect, why was the Champions League final not played on it? Secondly, when I was in Scotland with Celtic, Dunfermline had a plastic pitch and the irony was that it was UEFA-backed, but they could not play UEFA Cup matches on it when they qualified.

"I thought to myself then that you wouldn't see games on a plastic surface. Now you are going to see Champions League matches on it after CSKA qualified for the competition.

"Those playing on a plastic pitch, pretty obviously in my opinion, have an advantage. At this stage, I've not seen the pitch and people will point to the sub-zero temperatures. It might be the best plastic surface in Europe, I don't know. But it is a plastic surface and it's not what we are used to when we play football.

"I know people will say you are throwing in your excuses before you start but my view would not change whether we were 8-0 up or 8-0 down."