Kerr blasts Faroes training pitch in Florence

Faroe Islands coach Brian Kerr slammed Italian officials for the training pitch his team was provided with to prepare for Tuesday’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Italy.

The Faroes, who lost their first two group games, trained at Ponte a Niccheri just south of Florence and suffered a blow when Christian Mouritsen injured his ankle.

That led to former Ireland boss Kerr venting his fury.

“The grass on our pitch is so high that it would take all the sheep in the Faroe Islands a month to eat it,” he quipped.

Kerr said it was a hole in the ground that had caused Mouritsen’s injury and the player is doubtful for Tuesday.

“Thankfully we’ve got a good medical staff and we expect to have him back for tomorrow night but honestly the pitch they gave us is not what you’d expect or what you deserve for a national team.

“Where I live we’ve got 200 pitches better than this one.”

As for the game itself, Kerr is not setting specific targets.

“Our aim is to finish the group with more than four points which we managed in the last qualification campaign,” he said.

The Faroe Islands only have four professional players: Manchester City goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen, on loan at Tranmere, Ross County defender Atli Gregersen and forwards Christian Holst of Silkeborg in Denmark and Newcastle United’s Joan Simun Edmundsson.