RONNY Deila has launched a robust defence of artificial pitches - and revealed he would be happy for Celtic to play on one at Parkhead.

Rangers boss Mark Warburton last week blamed the knee injury his top scorer Martyn Waghorn suffered in the Scottish Cup replay against Kilmarnock on the astroturf at Rugby Park.

The Englishman also stated that plastic pitches should not be allowed at the highest level in Scottish football - as is currently the case in all four senior leagues down south.

However, Deila, whose side take on Hamilton on their 3G surface at New Douglas Park in the Ladbrokes Premiership tomorrow night, believes they pose no danger to his players if they are of a high standard and are maintained properly.

The 40-year-old also rated the artificial pitch at Kilmarnock as the best in the country and admitted he would approve of one being installed at Celtic Park if he was asked.

“I wouldn’t have a problem with it,” he said. “I would say yes. It has to be perfect with a proper watering system, but yes. I think it would take a few years to get to that stage.

“If we had it at Celtic Park, all the teams could play there. Imagine what Celtic Park could be. You could train there every day, you could be very familiar with it, get perfect circumstances all the time. So there are a lot of positive things.

“I think that Kilmarnock is okay if it’s watered. The Hamilton one also should be okay, but it’s slippy. I don’t know why it should be so slippy, it’s not normal. You can see that it’s not the best quality.

“The Kilmarnock one and the others, they are better. You have to use money on it if it’s going to be really good. I haven’t seen a top, top, top one. The one we have here (at the Celtic training complex at Lennoxtown) is the best.

“A very good grass pitch is No.1 and then a very good artificial pitch is No. 2. What is important if we get more artificial pitches in Scotland is that they have to be of the best quality. You know, we have to spend money on real quality."

Deila, who will be looking for his side to extend their lead at the top of the Premiership to nine points with a win over Hamilton, dismissed claims that artificial pitches can be responsible for players suffering injuries if they are well looked after.

“That is not true,” he said. “There is no truth in that. I can assure you, there has been a lot of research into that and there’s nothing that says you get more injuries on artificial.

“But you need to water the pitch. That’s very important because, if not, you can twist joints, the ball bounces and it has a harder touch, so it’s easy to get twisted. But, if you water it, there is no science that says an artificial pitch is more dangerous.”

The former Stromsgodset manager revealed that half of the top flight clubs in his native Norway play on synthetic pitches – and attributed the emergence of a generation of talented youngsters in his homeland to them training and playing on them.

Deila is adamant that Scottish football could benefit greatly from its most promising players working more on artificial surfaces also and rubbished suggestions that senior sides need to play competitively on grass.

“In my view, that’s very old fashioned in my opinion,” he said. “You don’t get perfect grass all the time in Scotland, so it seems like a good thing, artificial pitches. If you are going to develop talent, it’s so important that you have good surfaces.

"That way you can lift your eyes up and look for a pass, instead of worrying about the ball bouncing away from your feet. Everything is about quality - quality in training and quality of pitches, as well. That is very important if we want to develop skills in Scottish football.

"In Norway, half of the top league play on artificial pitches. That has been a positive thing. That is why there have been so many talented players coming from Norway.”

Deila admitted that he wasn't a fan when plastic pitches were first introduced in Norway during his time as a player - and was only won over after playing on them on several occasions.

He believes attitudes towards plastic pitches in Scotland will also change as our top players grow more accustomed to them and begin to see their benefits.

“I think in 20 years’ time the artificial pitches are going to be unbelievably good," he said. "Already the kids are loving playing on it.

“I understand the concerns. I was also very sceptical when I was a player, I wasn’t sure about artificial pitches. But I played my last year on artificial and it was okay, no problem.

"I think opinions will change when you have it. Because they don’t know what it is. Go out there on our artificial surface on the training ground, that’s a good one. And we keep it like that."