Disrespectful Mark Warburton has stood by Joey Barton despite the midfielders abusive comments about Celtic’s Champions League success.
Barton’s obsession with the Scottish champions seems to be dominating his online comments as he realises that his boyhood heroes are a gulf apart from the club he joined in the summer.
Warbo, who used to work as a city trader, wasn’t around when the former Strangeways inmate was unveiled as a marquee signing and is increasingly having to excuse the excesses of Barton.
“Is Joey not focused on his football? He’s an intelligent person on social media and there was no disrespect there,” the former city trader said clutching for his favourite cliché.
“I’m sure what he said was tongue in cheek and that no rational mind would see it as anything other than that. If we feel anything he does is inappropriate then we’ll tell him.
“No player or member of staff here has free rein – everyone must do what’s best for Rangers and I’m sure there was no malice intended.”
While Barton tweets about the Champions League Warbo actually believes that he’ll lead Sevco into Europe’s top competition.
Clearly overlooking 11 Premier League opponents and getting through three qualifying ties as an unseeded club Warbo believes that it’s only a matter of time before Zodac the Priest is heading for Govan!
“At some stage the Champions League is a challenge I’d like to face,” Warbo admitted. “Then you have to get the squad to deal with those problems and the big clubs do that.
“They have the strength in depth to deal with the difficulties thrown up by those types of high-quality games and getting there has got to be our long-term aim.
“To get into the Champions League you need to win the Premiership title, it’s that simple. Are we ready to win it? That’s the obvious question because, if you do, you’re in the qualifying rounds.”
Unlike the SFA and SPFL, UEFA don’t allow clubs with a going concern on their accounts to play in their competitions.
CLICK HERE for Celtic’s Champions League opponents.
CLICK HERE for how Brendan led the Green and White from darkness
CLICK HERE for Moussa Dembele’s twitter joy.