‘He won’t be cheap’, Dyche tells Ibrox men

his advisor, but he’s still got his chance to look around and that’s what players do nowadays. They’re openminded to what’s out there. ‘He knows where we stand on it, we do actually speak to these people. He’s got some deep thoughts on what he thinks is correct. I’ve worked with him, not against him, and one of the first things people said was: “How are you going to handle him?” ‘I’ve said all along, he’s a man not a boy, his contract runs out this summer. He knows our position on it and he’s got his chance to look around and do what he needs to do.’ Alex McLeish, meanwhile, believes his former club bagging Barton would bring memories of the Graeme Souness ‘Revolution’ flooding back to a club in need of box-office ‘glamour’. And he insisted Celtic would have to react if Mark Warburton invests heavily in a multi-year contract for the player. McLeish, who admitted trying to sign Barton during spells in charge of Aston Villa and Birmingham City, immediately likened the move to the 1986 double swoop for Terry Butcher and Chris Woods — both England stalwarts — by trail-blazing Souness. ‘It would be a really ambitious signing,’ said the former Rangers boss. ‘When Rangers went through their revolution in the Graeme Souness era, he started bringing in some top English players — and this jogs your memory back to then. ‘It would bring a bit of showbiz to Rangers. Of course that’s not what they are aiming to achieve with this signing, it’s to be successful — but he would bring that kind of glamour. ‘And, let’s face it, that’s been missing from the club for the last four years. ‘Of course it’s a statement of intent. Rangers are not coming back to consolidate.’

ALEX McLEISH was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is the proud sponsor of the Scottish Cup.