THE PRESSURE IS ALL ON CELTIC, CLAIMS BARTON

Brown as ‘not even in my league’ as a player. And Barton has now turned his attention to Rodgers as he prepares for what promises to be a hugely intriguing debut season in Scottish football. While expressing admiration for the new Celtic manager, the 33-year-old also made a point of referencing a lack of silverware on Rodgers’ CV. Asked about bridging the gap to their Old Firm rivals next season, Barton told Talksport: ‘I don’t think anyone thinks it will be easy. Celtic are a great football club and have had it their own way while Rangers have been out of the top flight. ‘You expect them to improve. They have brought Brendan Rodgers in and that will be a huge outlay for them. They will be expected to kick on. ‘The only thing you have to quantify that with — and I’m not trying to stir the pot here, I’m being realistic — is Brendan has never won a trophy. He has never won anything. ‘So, he is going to have to do stuff up there that he hasn’t done before. ‘Brendan is a great manager. I think he is a great appointment and is good for Scottish football. But second for Celtic next year is nothing.’ Barton clearly is not counting the play-off prize Rodgers landed with Swansea City when leading them to promotion to the Premier League in 2011. A subsequent spell in charge at Liverpool saw the Anfield outfit come agonisingly close to the clinching an historic league title in 2014. Rodgers’ appointment has now cemented Celtic’s status as odds-on favourites for a sixth successive title next term, with Barton reiterating his belief that all the pressure will be on the Parkhead side. ‘I’m just explaining what I see,’ he added. ‘If Celtic finish second next year, that is a bad season for them. ‘If Rangers go into the league and finish second — not that we want to, by the way — then that will be seen as progress. ‘So the pressure is all on Celtic. Every bit of pressure is on them. They have to win the league, they have to get to the group stages of the Champions League. ‘We don’t have that same external pressure being put on us. ‘Internally, that’s where we will be trying to get to. It’s the nature of a club the size of Rangers. ‘I’m not going there to finish in second place. I’m not going there to play second fiddle to anyone up there.’