Warnock’s game for a major test in the SPFL

NEIL WARNOCK insists he would jump at the chance of a managerial swansong in Scottish football. The Yorkshireman is putting the finishing touches to a new holiday home in Dunoon with a view to moving his family north on a permanent basis. And, despite setting his sights on a record eighth promotion in English football, the 67-year-old would relish a chance to take an SPFL side into Europe. Overlooked by Aberdeen and Inverness in the past, he insists wages would be no obstacle. ‘I would certainly have considered the Hibs job if anybody had rang me up,’ he told Sportsmail. ‘It’s not about money now. That’s not my thing now. ‘It’s not dissimilar to Joey Barton. I think: “Why has Joey come to Rangers?”. ‘Well, he has come because he is a good player and could be the best player in Scotland next year. ‘He is going to play against Celtic and I had my run-ins with him, but the last 12 or 18 months he has been super. ‘And I thought to myself: “I would love a club to ask me to pit my wits against the Celtics of this world”. ‘In Scotland, the challenge for me would be to get a Premiership club into Europe. The challenge would be to get above people you are not expected to go above.’ Linked with the Rangers job after watching games at Ibrox in the past, Warnock insists it was never discussed but wouldn’t rule it out if Mark Warburton returns south. ‘I’ve been to Rangers games,’ he said. ‘I go because I have a mate who is a Rangers fan. ‘I’ve been to Celtic as well but I like going to Hamilton and I even went to Brechin one night. ‘I love Morton as well — we have bricks in the wall at Cappielow across the water. I like local football. ‘I like it up here. I know there is not a lot of money. But there is a lot to be said for job satisfaction if you are in the right environment. ‘And I have never made a decision based on money. Europe is something I’d like to tick off and I could do that here. ‘I went for Aberdeen when Laurent D’Jaffo was there. He said to me: “Gaffer you’d love it up here”. ‘The Inverness one was another one I went for. That never got past a telephone call.’