Bristol Rovers boss and former footballer Joey Barton, says he wants to manage one of the top Scottish clubs to ‘ram it down the Old Firm’s throats’ after his unsuccessful spell at Rangers as a player.
While the Gas manager is currently enjoying a successful spell back in League One, talks of his old playing times in Scotland recently got brought back up in a discussion with The Sun.
The former Premier League captain moved to Scottish Premiership side Rangers at the start of the 2016/17 season, and describes his time there as the only black mark on his CV.
Playing eight times for the Glasgow club, Barton was suspended by the team for three weeks following a training ground argument with fellow player Andy Halliday, and eventually had his contract terminated with immediate effect soon after the suspension.
It led to Barton returning to England to play for Burnley, where he finished his playing career after a ban from football for 18 months connected to betting was handed to him by the FA.
After guiding Rovers back to League One through a thrilling 7-0 victory on the final day of the season, the Gas has had a steady year so far. Currently sat in 15th, Barton has led his side through the middle of the table, as the worry of relegation has never haunted them.
However, as the season comes to a close and Bristol prepares itself for next year, will an opening up north attach him away from the club?
In the interview with the national newspaper, Barton had some usual fighting words for his Ranger critics.
He 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.”
“You know what you’ve done and I don’t need anyone to tell me that I was a brilliant player. “My time at Ibrox is the only black mark I’ve got in my copybook as a player.
“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.”
Writer’s View
As usual with Barton, he tells you how it is, and I wouldn’t be too worried if you are a Rovers fan that wants him to stay. It’s clear this interview brought back some bad memories with Rangers and in familiar fashion, Barton would like to get the last laugh.
I do think the former player is a decent young manager and with a lengthy managerial career ahead of him, maybe there will be a time in the future when he can get his revenge.
