JAMES TAVERNIER insists hazardous plastic pitches shouldn’t be allowed in the Premiership after blaming the Rugby Park surface for the injury that has left Jamie Murphy crocked.

The winger received treatment before being stretched off just 15 minutes into Rangers’ 3-1 Betfred Cup win over Kilmarnock on Sunday.

Boss Steven Gerrard admitted he was ‘devastated’ for Murphy and claimed that elite football shouldn’t be played on synthetic surfaces.

The Rugby Park pitch was voted the second worst in the top flight – ahead only of Hamilton - in a survey by PFA Scotland earlier this summer.

And Ibrox skipper Tavernier has no doubt that it played a part in the injury that could rule Murphy out of action for a significant amount of time.

He said: “The PFA asked us to do the survey and rate every pitch and obviously we rated all the astroturf pitches badly.

“You feel more wear and tear on your legs after playing on them. Something has to be done. Livingston have just come up and have been allowed to put an astroturf pitch down.

“It is something that is disappointing. You don’t want to see it in our league.

“But obviously it is down to the league, not the PFA. But Rangers are good enough to come to these stadiums and play the way we want to.

“I guarantee you that Murphy wouldn’t have the injury that he got today if it had been a grass pitch.

“He planted his foot, got a wee nudge and then just felt something go. If that’s on grass that’s not going to happen. That’s obviously disappointing.

“We can only come back to them and tell them how we feel about the pitches. At the end of the day it is down to them if they want to do anything with it. We will just keep carrying on doing what we have to do at each stadium.”

Murphy was chasing a long ball with defender Kirk Broadfoot when he planted his foot and twisted his knee and was in clear discomfort straight away.

It is the second time Rangers have lost a player through injury at Rugby Park after Martyn Waghorn missed more than two months with a knee injury in 2016.

Tavernier said: “I honestly thought it was his ankle at first. But when he got stretchered off we knew it was something serious right away. I saw him after the game and he was in a full leg brace.

“That is twice now I have been to this stadium when a player has suffered a bad injury. First it was Waggy and now it is Murphy. These astroturf pitches are always a hazard and are always going to cause injuries to any professional.

“As a footballer, you just want to play football. As a kid you played on anything. As a professional you know you’ve got to play on all kinds of surfaces.

“We are going to go to Russia and play on the same material. You know it is something in the game and you just get on with it. But if you have a choice you chose grass. If you are a Premiership team you should be playing on grass.”

The injury to Murphy overshadowed another impressive display from Rangers as they set up a last eight tie at home to Ayr United.

Striker Alfredo Morelos hit a clinical hat-trick to see off Steve Clarke’s side, with captain Tavernier having a hand in all three goals.

Tavernier said: “Definitely this season Alfredo has put himself in great positions and is putting the ball in the back of the net. There is nothing better for midfielders, wingers and full-backs if he is putting the ball away.

“Nine of out ten times he's going to put the ball in the net so I'm very happy for him to get three goals. It just shows how much of a threat he is for us.”