No Twitter ban for Joey. He is a winner and we’re sure he’ll do his talking on the pitch
JOEY BARTON is yet to kick a ball in anger for Rangers, let alone sample the white heat of the Old Firm cauldron. But the controversial former Manchester City and Newcastle United midfielder has already become embroiled in a very public war of words with Celtic captain Scott Brown.
Not content with declaring Brown ‘not in my league’ last month, just 24 hours later Barton countered the excitement greeting the arrival of Brendan Rodgers at Parkhead by reminding people that the former Liverpool boss has yet to win a single trophy.
Rangers assistant manager David Weir has watched as Barton has stirred the pot over social media in the past few weeks, with Roy Hodgson and Gary Neville also on the receiving end after England’s disastrous Euro 2016 campaign.
However, rather than attempt to chastise or change the outspoken 33-year-old, Weir insists Rangers walked into the Barton signing with their eyes open and knew what kind of character they were getting.
Attempting to curb his confrontational manner could risk reducing the midfielder’s potency on the park when he teams up with the squad upon their return from America at the end of the week.
So the Ibrox No 2 has no problem with Barton airing his outspoken views — on condition that he backs up his Twitter talk on the pitch.
‘I think all that stuff comes with the territory with Joey,’ shrugged Weir. ‘We are not going to change him and I don’t think we want to change him.
‘Joey is successful because of what he does. But the thing with him is that if he throws down the gauntlet, then he has to live up to it. But that’s just his nature. There’s no point in us bringing in somebody like that then saying: “This is what we want from you”. ‘We’ve done our homework. We know what Joey is and we hope we know how to get the best out of him. That’s our job. We have to trust him. We have to embrace what he is and we have to use it to our benefit.’
Rather than focus on Barton’s prodigious output to his 3.2million Twitter followers, Weir would rather speak about what the midfielder will bring to Mark Warburton’s team.
He feels Rangers have landed a winner whose ferocious hunger to succeed will rub off on the rest of the squad at Murray Park.
‘Joey will bring a presence both as a person and a player,’ said Weir. ‘He was the best player in the English Championship last season. And it’s no mean feat to play in that league, with the number of competitive games there.
‘It’s a difficult league to win but that’s a big part of it too — Joey is a winner. And we need as many winners as we can at this club because that’s what being here is all about.
‘We need to be successful and to do that you need successful people in your team, people who know what it takes to win, who enjoy that feeling and who don’t like losing. Joey fits that criteria. He’s a great signing for us, on and off the pitch.
‘We’ve done unbelievably well to get him here. We put a lot of time and effort into getting him here.
‘Our head of recruitment Frank McParland’s been working on it for a long time and for us to get that kind of calibre of player is unbelievable. To be honest, I’m really surprised we’ve done it.’
Last season as Rangers romped to the Championship title, they scored 27 more goals than nearest league rival Falkirk but conceded the same — 34 — as both the Bairns and third-placed Hibs.
In a bid to shore up their back line for the Premiership next season, Warburton has signed former QPR defender Clint Hill and is running the rule over giant former USA international Oguchi Onyewu during their training camp here in South Carolina.
Weir believes it is possible Onyewu will become Warburton’s ninth summer signing. If not, he reckons another recent recruit from Accrington Stanley, Matt Crooks, can fill in if needed.
‘Oguchi has done well,’ said Weir.
‘We all know he is an experienced player. It’s about us having a look at him, while he has a look at us.
‘It’s a difficult situation but he has handled it really well and he has socialised really well.
‘I think there is a chance he will win a contract. We wouldn’t have invited him here if we didn’t think he had a chance of getting a deal.
‘We’ve got until the end of the week to make our minds up. We’ll give him our thoughts and he will give us his thoughts and we will see where we are at. But the decision has to be right for all parties.
‘Oguchi still wants to play but he wants a challenge that excites him. He has options in the USA and he wants to have options in Europe too.
‘But if we don’t sign him, it doesn’t mean we need to find another centreback because we have Clint Hill and also Matt Crooks can play there.
‘We know there are areas we can improve on — and we will improve on them. The bottom line is we want a competitive squad and we want everyone to be pushed. No matter what walk of life you are in, competition is important.
‘So if someone becomes available and we feel it will enhance the squad, and it’s in our budget, then we will do it.’
Weir played for Rangers until the age of 40 and he has also vowed to do his best to help 37-year-old former QPR defender Hill achieve longevity at Ibrox after signing a one-year deal.
‘My job is to help all the lads as much as I can but I will give Clint my thoughts on my own experiences as a player,’ he said.
‘But Clint is an experienced guy, who has played at different levels at different stages of his career.
‘He will handle whatever comes his way and that’s why he has played so long and been as successful as he has been in his career. He has the equipment to handle what is thrown at him.’
“We will not change him and don’t want to”