Joey Barton delivers verdict on time at Rangers, has this message for fans
By Danny Wright
Joey Barton has revealed that he went to Rangers believing that he had what it would take to be a success at Ibrox, and that he has a huge amount of respect for the club and the fans.
Now at Burnley, Barton left the Scottish Premiership club having had his contract terminated in November after a serious falling out with manager Mark Warburton.
The 34-year-old refused to go into any detail about his Ibrox departure but said that he still maintains a great deal of respect for the club.
“I was trying to win at Rangers,” he said to TalkSport.
“I went in there with the ability, the knowledge and the expertise to win. I did everything I could possibly have done to achieve those goals but it just didn’t work out, and it wasn’t through any lack of desire or determination on my part.
“I’ve got an enormous amount of respect for Rangers as a football club – for the fans, tradition and everything it stands for.
After starting all five of Rangers’ opening games of the Scottish Premiership season, Barton soon found himself suspended by the club following an incident after the 5-1 loss to bitter rivals Celtic in November.
Barton re-signed at Turf Moor in January on a free transfer just six months after leaving them for Rangers in July.
The experienced midfielder, who has played for Manchester City, Newcastle and QPR, scored on his second debut for Sean Dyche’s side in a 1-0 win against Southampton.
After his return to the Premier League club, Barton said that it was as though he had never left and thanked Burnley, and their fans, for the great support they gave him.
“I’m incredibly thankful to Burnley,” he added.
“The first time I stepped back on the pitch the fans were magnificent and it was like I’d never been away.”
Burnley are currently 12th in the league, level on 29 points with Stoke. Their next game is against league leaders Chelsea on Sunday
In other Rangers news, Mark Lawrenson urges Warburton to make this change to the team.
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