We did not resign, says Warburton

MARK WARBURTON last night hit back at Rangers’ claims that he quit the club — and accused the Ibrox hierarchy of blanking his request for an explanation. The Englishman left abruptly last Friday together with assistant David Weir and chief scout Frank McParland, with chairman Dave King later stating the club had accepted their resignations. The board believed they were within their rights to do so after Dave Lockwood, an agent working for the trio, asked if the management team could be released from their contracts in order to nullify the compensation clause which might prevent another club moving in for their services. The three had

been strongly linked with Nottingham Forest last week but when the English club opted to stick with Gary Brazil and Jack Lester until the end of the season, the Rangers board told Lockwood they would still be accepting the resignations. Warburton immediately claimed he had no knowledge of what had gone on but, in a statement released on Saturday, King was adamant that Lockwood had acted with the full authority of the management team. Breaking their silence after five days yesterday, however, Warburton, Weir and McParland issued a statement through the League Managers Association outlining their dismay at what had transpired. ‘Much has been said over the last few days relating to our departure from Rangers Football Club,’ it read. ‘At this stage, for legal reasons, it is inappropriate for us to comment in any great detail on our departure from the club. However, given that the club has seen fit to make detailed public statements, it is important that we clarify certain matters and as such we would like to formally place on record that at no stage did we resign from our positions at Rangers. ‘It is a matter of surprise to us, and to the League Managers Association (LMA), which is advising all three of us, that despite its detailed public statements, the club has not answered key questions put to it by the LMA, in writing, requesting an explanation of why it suggested that we resigned from our positions. ‘For all three of us, it was an absolute privilege to be given the opportunity to work at a club that is so rich in tradition and history. It was an honour to be given the responsibility of returning the club to the top tier of Scottish football and we are very proud to have played our part in securing promotion back to the Scottish Premiership. ‘Winning the Petrofac Scottish Challenge Cup and beating Celtic, in a memorable semi-final to reach the Scottish Cup Final, are experiences we will never forget. ‘We sincerely thank the Rangers fans for their unwavering passion and dedication. We had the good fortune to meet so many outstanding individuals and supporters of the club and we will always value their words of encouragement. We wish them great success for the seasons ahead. ‘The current group of players, together with the staff at the training ground and Ibrox, have borne the huge weight of responsibility of taking a massive club back to the top flight. ‘They should be proud of their togetherness and their work ethic. It has been a pleasure to work with them and we would like to thank each and every one of them.’ Although there was no mention of a legal fight in the statement, it’s believed the three are taking legal advice from the LMA before deciding whether that is an avenue they want to pursue. Graeme Murty, who Warburton brought in as development team manager, was put in charge for Sunday’s Scottish Cup clash with Morton and will do so again at Dens Park this Sunday. On Tuesday, managing director Stewart Robertson outlined the club’s preferred model of a manager working under a director of football, although an interim boss until the summer is possible.