Last updated on .From the section Kilmarnock

Steve Clarke says the Rugby Park pitch is "there for the season"

Kilmarnock manager Steve Clarke has defended their artificial surface after Steven Gerrard claimed "elite football shouldn't have any plastic pitches".

Rangers boss Gerrard was speaking after winger Jamie Murphy suffered a knee ligament injury at Rugby Park on Sunday that will keep him out for the season.

Killie first installed their pitch four years ago and are one of three Scottish Premiership sides with a plastic pitch.

But Clarke said: "Is our injury record any worse than anybody else's?"

He added: "We train on it every day and play on it every second week.

"The most important thing to say is we are all disappointed when any player gets a serious injury - on any surface, not just artificial. They get injured on grass pitches.

"For Jamie, we wish him a speedy and full recovery and hope he is back playing as soon as possible."

Hamilton Academical and Livingston are the other top-flight clubs with artificial surfaces, which are also common in the Scottish Professional Football League's other divisions.

"For Kilmarnock, the initial decision to put down that pitch was financial and it has benefited the club financially because it's in a much more secure financial footing than it was 10 years ago, when it almost went bankrupt," Clarke said.

"We can't lift the plastic pitch this year, so there's no point getting into a discussion about it because it can't come up - it's there for the season.

"We have to play on it and train on it, and that's what we'll do.

"I think there's a mechanism in place if clubs don't want plastic pitches they can vote them out, but I would suggest they are not going to do that because they have allowed Livingston to put a plastic pitch down this year, Hamilton have just relayed a plastic pitch.

"And, don't forget, plastic pitches are used all over the world."