Cercle Brugge boss uneasy about ‘very bad’ Kilmarnock pitch at ‘romantic’ Rugby Park

Cercle Brugge head coach Miron Muslic feels his side will need to overcome a “very bad” pitch as well as a strong Kilmarnock team and the romance of Rugby Park in Thursday’s Europa League qualifier.

Muslic was impressed with the “aura” of Killie’s stadium but not the artificial surface when he and his players arrived in Ayrshire on Wednesday afternoon.

When asked about Derek McInnes and his team, he said: “They played a very good season, especially in the home games, they’ve been really, really strong, powerful and effective and again using the possibility of the artificial pitch.

“So I’m completely aware about Derek and his job and he has done fantastic.”

Having referenced the pitch several times, Muslic was asked if the surface was a concern.

“That’s something we cannot control,” he said. “I cannot put too much energy into this.

“Of course it’s new and challenging, and also the pitch is in very bad condition. It’s not a new artificial pitch, it’s just an old one.

“But that’s something we cannot control. We can control a strong performance and this is our plan.

“We have one team in our competition, St Truiden, who play on an artificial pitch, so we face them once a year. The last two games we won 1-0 and 2-0 so hopefully this is a good omen.

“But we respect Kilmarnock a lot. This is a team that will give their all, this is a team that will try to make it a real fight.

“I heard the stadium is sold out. I was already outside and had a look and it has a little bit of football romance. It was really nice.

“Even if it’s an old stadium, it has an aura and some nice charisma. So we’re going to not only challenge Kilmarnock, also their fantastic home fans. Everything is prepared for a European feast, and we just want to make sure that we are performing.”

Cercle are the seeded team in the Europa League second qualifying round but have not played in foreign competition since losing to Anorthosis Famagusta in 2010. They have only won once in four European ties in total, beating Finnish side Turun Palloseura on away goals.

Their recent history is not dissimilar to Killie, who are back in Europe three years after being relegated.

“It was a nice journey over the last two years,” Muslic said. “I took over fighting relegation. Almost two years later we are now having our first European game after 14 years. It is my first, so we’ve achieved something beautiful over the last two years.

“Sometimes football is so fast that you don’t even realise it, but this is something we should enjoy.”