Vinny Perth: Pitch problems detrimental for Dundalk and Derry City

Vinny Perth believes the artificial surfaces at Dundalk and Derry City's grounds are having a detrimental impact on both clubs.

It comes after Dundalk head coach Stephen O'Donnell aired his concerns about the effect of the pitch at Oriel Park in the wake of their 2-2 home draw on Sunday against Derry City, who also have a synthetic surface of their own at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, O'Donnell had felt the pitch at Dundalk was contributing to injuries and also felt Derry have had similar issues.

"It's gone beyond probably a point of not a great surface to watch football on, it’s actually injuring players. Muscle injuries, there is no give on it," he said.

"I'm speculating but all I know is we get a lorry load of injuries and Derry get a lot of injuries. I'd just be a bit worried about the injury count."

Former Dundalk boss Perth joined the RTÉ Soccer Podcast this week and on reflection after hearing O'Donnell's remarks, recalled a spate of injuries during his time in charge.

"My initial reaction to hearing those comments was we didn't get loads of injuries the last eight or nine years. And then when I thought about it, my first league game at Dundalk, I think it was against Sligo. Robbie Benson broke his leg, Patrick McEleney did his metatarsal and two weeks later Chris Shields did his medial knee ligament," he said.

You can watch the full podcast below:

We need your consent to load this YouTube content We use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preferences

"They all happened at Oriel Park. John Moutney did his cruciate for Pat's