IAN FERGUSON has urged Mark Warburton to bring a swift end to the Joey Barton saga and avoid the ‘pantomime’ around the midfielder dragging on even further at Ibrox.
Barton has not played for Rangers since the 5-1 defeat to Celtic last month and has been suspended for several weeks after a training ground incident. The 34-year-old was involved in a bust-up with team-mate Andy Halliday before a confrontation with boss Warburton that lead to him being banned from Auchenhowie.
A meeting to discuss his Ibrox future was cancelled on Thursday but Barton appears to have played his last game for the Light Blues. Barton agreed a two-year deal at Ibrox when he made the switch from Burnley and became the most high-profile signing of the summer north of the border.
The midfielder also is facing action from the Scottish FA for allegedly breaching betting rules and nine-in-a-row hero Ferguson believes swift action should have been taken to avoid the drama grabbing more headlines over the last few weeks.
He told Herald Sport: “I am a bit embarrassed by it to be honest. Once again we are talking about off field things rather than on the field. I think Mark Warburton should have made a tough decision there and then.
“I saw it when Graham Roberts had a discussion with Graeme Souness and within 30 seconds it was over and Graham never kicked a ball for Rangers again. Graeme Souness made that decision and it was a tough decision because at that time Graham Roberts was one of the fan favourites. But he made that decision, stuck by that decision and let everybody know who was boss.
“I think this should have been the same scenario and he should have made it clear. If it is the case that he was arguing in front of everybody with the manager then there is no way back for me.
“The manager is the one that runs the club. It is his philosophy, his style, his structure, the one that everything lands on top of when things don’t go right. If you have got a player that is having arguments and being disrespectful, you have to deal with it.
“Look, we all get hot headed and you say things in the heat of the moment but you have got to pick wisely what you say in front of people. If you say the wrong thing, you are gone.”
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