Former Ibrox manager on trophies, finals a Legacy about so much more than just WARBARTON

THE two will forever be intrinsically linked when supporters look back on their time at Rangers. But Mark Warburton wants his Ibrox legacy to be remembered for more than just a public falling-out with Joey Barton.

When you think of Warburton’s time in Glasgow, it’s almost natural to picture Barton. Especially since their spat became so public after the player accused the former Ibrox manager of lacking leadership in the dressing room when they needed it most.

A difficult pill to swallow, then, for Warburton – a man who sealed silverware, albeit only the Petrofac Training Cup, and whose Championship-winning side reached a Scottish Cup final by beating Celtic in the semi. And that’s what the former Brentford manager wants to make unequivocally clear. That he did, indeed, bring some success to Ibrox during his spell in charge.

Signing Barton – a member of the English Championship’s team of the year – was considered a coup a that time and supporters were delighted at his arrival. Ultimately, however, the transfer failed miserably and Warburton has accepted that.

The current QPR manager also holds his hands up and accepts that he should have blooded more young players in the Scottish Premiership. Having signed the ageing

Clint Hill, Niko Kranjcar and Philippe Senderos, only the former can be considered a somewhat decent acquisition.

“The move obviously didn’t work but Joey was an excellent footballer with a strong CV,” Warburton said. “Off the back of an outstanding season with Burnley where he was in the Championship team of the year and won promotion to the Premier League. The blue side of Glasgow were excited about that transfer that summer.

“If you get seven out of 10 signings right, you’re doing a fantastic job! Joey looked a good signing, though I’ll hold my hands up and say I made the mistake of thinking we needed more maturity, a bit of steel around us, because you’re always going to be judged against Celtic. It was maybe my fault and we should’ve gone with the younger ones, still, and said it was part of our building.

“It was a massive turnover of players because we had to, so you’re not going to get everyone right. We got record season tickets sold in advance, it was a massive thing. Nobody has ever said, ‘How many season tickets were down to

Barton or Kranjcar?’ I’m sure a good number of them were sold thanks to these signings. Generally, though, you’re going to get some signings wrong, of course you are.

“I’m obviously disappointed when people come out with derogatory, derisory comments. There’s no point getting involved in a playground spat because you’ve got to be better than that. I just hope Rangers fans see more than just a short spat with Joey Barton being the legacy.”

With news breaking this week that Andy Halliday,

Jason Holt and Wes Foderingham would be leaving the club at the expiry of their contracts, Warburton has always reflected on the trio as positive signings from his time. Having spent very little on transfers at Rangers, he was content with what he brought in for what he paid out.

Only a minor frustration, then, that supporters seemed convinced that the club was splashing out huge sums of money on weekly wages. An issue Warburton was quick to clear up.

“I look back at, say, Wes Foderingham, who did outstandingly well and could easily go straight into goal for Rangers now,” he said. “He was a free transfer.

“Tav [James Tavernier] and Waggy [Martyn Waghorn] were a combined £300k, Danny Wilson was free, Rob Kiernan. Jason Holt and Andy Halliday all free. These signings were very low cost and even the older ones, Clint Hill and Niko, were free because we had very limited budget to work with.

“Another micro-frustration was people saying, ‘Oh Niko Kranjcar was on £25,000 a week’, it was laughable. Some of the numbers being bandied around were nonsensical. It was fractions of that, but it was farcical that fans thought Rangers would be paying that sort of wage. We never paid anywhere near these wages.

“We knew the situation in terms of budget, we knew money wouldn’t be forthcoming. But you always want to make sure the supporters get as much communication as possible. Sometimes they don’t want to hear the message.

Right now clubs are talking about deferring wages and some don’t want to hear the

It was a massive turnover of players