McClean criticises 'awful' LOI pitches, calls for funding
Derry City's James McClean has criticised the "awful" pitches in the League of Ireland and said facilities in the Irish game are "so far behind it's insane".McClean came off the bench in the 73rd minute of the Candystripes' goalless draw against Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds on Monday evening.He made a high-profile return to his hometown club in January, arriving from Wrexham, who are currently sixth in the English Championship.Derry were expected to be among the title challengers this year but they've made a slow start, sitting in seventh position having won just two of their first ten games.After the stalemate in Sligo, McClean took to social media to offer his assessment of the LOI landscape."The lack of funding the league gets is evident week in week out on how awful all the playing surfaces are," he posted on Instagram."As a league we are so far behind it's insane and sad really."PS result today was poor also."Better investment = better pitches, better facilities; better acadamies (some clubs don't even have academies), better stronger league."Ultimately having all the above therefore can only give the national team also a much better chance of succeeding."The surface in Sligo hosted an All-Island Cup match on Saturday amid torrential rain and then had the Premier Division match 48 hours later, but it had also been criticised earlier in the season by Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley.Bit O' Red boss John Russell also admitted his frustration last month saying: "I am making excuses, but the pitch is killing us. The ball is popping up everywhere."The pitch is being replaced in 2027 or 2028 as part of a €16m redevelopment.McClean's own club are in the process of replacing their astro surface, funded by chairman Philip O'Doherty. They will play some home games in Derry GAA's Celtic Park during the works.In the Budget last October, it was announced League of Ireland academies will receive €3m in funding from the government.Last summer an independent audit of LOI clubs, funded by government, found that youth football facilities in Ireland lagged well behind those in other countries ranked 51-100 by world governing body FIFA.
