WARBURTON MUST END BT FEUD, SAYS McLEISH
ALEX McLEISH is adamant Rangers boss Mark Warburton has to end his feud with BT Sport. The broadcaster is ‘seeking clarification’ after Warburton refused to do an interview following his side’s 1-0 win at Inverness last Friday night. The Ibrox manager’s unhappiness with BT Sport is believed to stem from scathing criticism of him in the wake of the 5-1 Old Firm loss at Celtic in September from analyst and ex-Celtic striker Chris Sutton. But BT Sport’s right to a post-match interview with a member of each management team after live matches is in their contractual agreement with the SPFL. Along with Sky Sports, BT have ploughed in a combined figure of around £70million into the Scottish game until 2020. BT have also spent in the region
of £8million for the right to show the Betfred Cup and will broadcast Rangers’ Old Firm semi-final with Celtic at Hampden this Sunday. Former Rangers and Scotland boss McLeish believes the broadcaster must be shown respect. McLeish said: ‘(BT Sport) are part of the game. We have to respect that money is put into the game by television companies. I think there are rules in place that you have to do your duties. So maybe Mark has to reassess why he did that. ‘Whether he’s been told by someone else not to do it (I don’t know), but I would imagine the rules make it part of your duties. ‘Did I always feel I had to front up when I was Rangers manager? Absolutely, even if I didn’t always want to. ‘I know Rangers won the other night at Inverness, but, after a defeat, I would sometimes have an inquiry in the dressing room and shout at the players to try and delay having to do the Press. But I never, ever avoided doing the Press. It’s your duty.’ McLeish admits to being taken aback at the criticism that accompanied his own defeats in Old Firm matches, but he always viewed winning matches as the best antidote. He also feels managers have a responsibility to their fans and their club’s sponsors to address the media. ‘The Old Firm is as fierce a derby as there is on the whole planet — and that includes the Press as well,’ added McLeish. ‘I remember after one of my first reverses against Celtic, I thought: “Hang on, wait a minute, I thought I would get a bit more understanding than that.” ‘But you have to take it in and not react too much in a negative way and try and learn from the experience. I always thought that just getting results would make a world of difference. ‘I’m not criticising Mark Warburton. I’m just saying that it’s a learning curve and it’s new for him because he’s come into the game quite late as a head coach. Maybe one of his tactics (is to adopt a siege mentality). ‘But he knows as well as anyone that the main thing with Rangers is that you need to win. ‘I think everyone has to pay respect to the guys that are writing stuff and commentating, especially when you’ve got good sponsorship. It’s part of that sponsorship to speak on your club’s behalf.’