Ibrox flop Barton wants to return to Scotland to ram it down Celtic’s throats
Joey Barton wants to manage Aberdeen, Hearts or Hibs to show Celtic fans how good he really is.
The gobby Scouser is better known for breaking the law than winning trophies with a stint in Strangeways Prison in the middle of his career.
During the summer of 2016 he was going on about how he was going to Ibrox to boss it in Scottish football but reality, as usual, turned out to be a painful experience.
Barton lasted just five matches in the SPFL, getting smashed by Greg Taylor at Kilmarnock then humiliated by Scott Brown in his final appearance in Scottish football.
After a couple of club suspensions he picked up a pay off and took his coffee machine back down the M74 to Burnley with a suspension for betting offences bringing his playing days to a halt.
Speaking to The Sun Barton said:
Every time I read a Scottish paper it’s a case of ‘Flop Barton’. It’s the only blot on my copybook as a player.
Maybe there’s only one thing for it and that means I’ll have to go back to Scotland and take charge of Hibs, Aberdeen or Hearts — and ram it down the Old Firm’s throats.
Modestly he added:
You know what you’ve done and I don’t need anyone to tell me that I was a brilliant player.
I know better than anyone else what I contributed when I pulled the shirt on and that’s all that matters to me. If the papers or the propaganda that clubs put out is favourable to you, then you see there is a good rapport when you go back.
The only exception is with Rangers. My time at Ibrox is the only black mark I’ve got in my copybook as a player. I can’t count myself successful as a Rangers player because I fell out with the manager there and wasn’t allowed enough time to prove myself.
But look at what’s happened to Mark Warburton since we went our separate ways. It’s been a case of sacked, sacked, sacked. Now he’s a first-team coach at West Ham and look what’s happened to David Moyes since he arrived.
But if the powers-that-be had got rid of Warburton and stuck by me, they would have won their 55th title a lot sooner than they did under Steven Gerrard. But Rangers made a bed for themselves with Warburton and they had to lie in it.
Barton is currently managing Bristol Rovers who are 15th in League One, one place and one point behind Brown at Fleetwood Town.