Alan Hutton: This is real reason Ryan Jack omitted for Rangers clash
Steven Gerrard had little choice but to bench Ryan Jack for Rangers against Hamilton due to the "nightmare" of a plastic pitch.
That is the view of former Gers and Scotland star Alan Hutton who, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, admitted while Bongani Zungu failed to impress in place of the 29-year-old, the Ibrox boss did the right thing his Scottish midfielder.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Gerrard bemoaned his side's performance and suggested he left too much "quality and personality" on the bench in the 1-1 draw.
Jack, Steven Davis and Kemar Roofe all started the game among the substitutes but were brought on during the second half.
The former Aberdeen man, who only came back from a knee injury in January, had started the last two matches against Hibernian and St Johnstone.
Hutton believes that while the result was disappointing for Gerrard, it was the right decision not to risk Jack on Hamilton's artificial turf.
Hutton told Football Insider assistant editor Russell Edge: "The plastic pitch is a nightmare but then again, everybody has to play on it, it's not just going against your team.
"I think sometimes with certain players, you have to be careful with them, especially players that have had knee problems in the past like Ryan Jack for instance. You have to look out for the welfare of the players.
"He did leave a lot on the bench, it was an opportunity for other players to come in and really stamp authority on a game and really get in the forefront of Gerrard's thinking for the upcoming games, especially the European game coming up.
"It didn't seem that many of them had taken their my chance against Hamilton and it was a poor display."