Warburton refuses to get drawn into war of words as Sutton turns up the heat
Weak Mark simply can’t afford to lose these coming two matches
AMAN without his troubles to seek, the embattled Mark Warburton will be glad to see the back of the last two weeks. As far as his arch-critic Chris Sutton is concerned, though, it is the next six days that could decide whether or not the Englishman has an Ibrox future.
Off the park, a training ground clash with Joey Barton generated countless unwanted headlines for Warburton before he eventually elected yesterday to suspend his marquee summer signing for three weeks.
On the park, a 5-1 Old Firm humiliation at Celtic Park, allied to disappointing draws with Ross County, Hamilton and Kilmarnock, have Rangers lying fifth in the Premiership table.
Tonight, Championship leaders Queen of the South visit Ibrox in the Betfred Cup quarter-finals with the Dumfries side boasting a forward in Stephen Dobbie who has scored nine goals in his last seven games.
Rangers then face a tough league match against Aberdeen on Sunday with a hot reception assured on their first trip to Pittodrie in almost five years.
For Sutton, defeat for Rangers in both upcoming matches could see Warburton facing the sack.
‘I think Queen of the South is a huge game for Mark Warburton. I think it’s a game that Rangers have to win,’ said the BT Sport pundit.
‘It’s hugely significant, all the more because Rangers then have Aberdeen on the Sunday.
‘If it’s a loss-loss scenario then I think the question would certainly be asked if Mark Warburton could survive that.’
A veteran of many bruising training ground clashes and dressing room inquests, Sutton watched as the likes of Martin O’Neill resolved such issues on the day they occurred.
Instead, Warburton elected to send Barton home last Tuesday to, as the midfielder put it, ‘re-evaluate the way I’m thinking’.
After three days, the 34-year-old gave an unauthorised interview to talkSPORT in which he described the decision to banish him as ‘strange’, adding that he had ‘done nothing to apologise for’.
‘The Barton situation has got completely out of hand. I don’t care what anybody says. It’s been handled really, really poorly,’ said Sutton.
‘I’ve already described it as weak management from Mark Warburton and I stand by that.
‘I’ve been in a dressing room that’s kicked off. I remember once saving Stan Petrov’s life from Bobo Balde!
‘Bobo merely picked me up and threw me to my locker. I did get him off Stan and the door broke.
‘I looked alongside me and Alan Thompson was cowering in the corner. He didn’t have the gumption to get involved.
‘I’ve seen (Celtic assistant) John Robertson flipped over the treatment table by Bobo. There’s been loads of altercations and shouting. But that’s good. You have to have that.
‘I may be reading it totally wrong, but if someone asks for your opinion and you get it and don’t agree with it, well don’t ask for it.
‘Rangers had just lost to their biggest rival. They were humiliated and, in those circumstances, heated debates happen. But these things are normally dealt with on the spot and people get it out of their system.
‘Celtic have a strong manager now in Brendan Rodgers. He would’ve dealt with it. It wouldn’t have happened under Walter Smith or my old manager Martin O’ Neill.
‘Martin O’Neill signed Stan Collymore. He signed John Hartson, he signed Craig Bellamy, perceived bad boys. He signed me, but I wasn’t in their league.
‘I’m pretty sure, if it was Walter Smith or Martin O’Neill, it would have been “bang, done” on the Tuesday.
‘The person involved would have been sacked, fined, or suspended, but it would have been clear. The uncertainty is the issue here.
‘(Warburton) should have dealt with it on the Tuesday.
‘It seems to me like Barton’s radio interview has caused the big problems. The tone of what he said was that he couldn’t understand why he should apologise for something he didn’t think was wrong.
‘I would suggest the fact there is this three-week ban would mean Rangers don’t want him. It’s just pure speculation on my part, but there will be contract issues, I’m sure.’
A winner of four Scottish titles, three Scottish Cups and one League Cup while at Celtic, Sutton was surprised by Warburton hitting out at ‘negativity’ in the wake of Rangers’ worst Old Firm result in 16 years.
On BT Sport, he irked Warburton by claiming the Rangers job is ‘too big’ for the Englishman and has reiterated that strong view.
‘The stuff about the press being negative and poisonous after they’ve been thumped 5-1 by their biggest rivals? That astonished me,’ he said.
‘When your team is in a bit of a crisis, you’re expecting stronger management. This isn’t Brentford. This is Rangers. I don’t think Warburton understands the environment he’s in. It’s a massive problem.’