MARK WARBURTON’S move Nottingham Forest yesterday was hardly earth shattering news and is fishier than Pittenweem harbour at low tide.

He, David Weir, a Rangers legend no less, and also Frank McParland have some explaining to do because, right at this minute, their reputations are in tatters among the supporters who up until right at the end of their stay at the club backed that trio when perhaps such loyalty was undeserved.

What has to come out is the truth, although I fear nothing will be said on the advice of lawyers, and even if Warburton and his team come to an agreement with Rangers, confidentiality clauses deny the chance for a journalist to ask, quite simply, what happened.

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But the three merry men now ensconced outside Sherwood need to do some straight shooting when they speak at a press conference on Thursday. I won't hold my breath.

This is what Nottingham Forest owner Fawaz Al Hasawi told his own club’s website yesterday.

“I wanted to get him for some time; he was a manager I admired when he was at Glasgow Rangers. But he was in a job with another club.

“But when he left Rangers, we tried to talk to him and negotiate a deal. The important thing for him was that he wanted to be here for some time; to have the chance to work on things over time. But we have got him now and we are very happy.”

And this was Warburton just a few hours later, on the same website. after he took his first training session at the Forest training ground.

“It came about very quickly and it has been a whirlwind two or three days,” he said. “We recognise that it is difficult for players and staff during times of change and that is the nature of football but we look forward to the challenges that lie ahead.”

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So which was it? The “two or three days” Warburton speaks about is hardly a long time. Can we take from the words of Al Hasawi, who to be fair is hardly a reliable source of information, that this has been brewing for a while?

This is the story as I understand it. Nottingham Forest made a move for Warburton while he was still at Rangers. The Englishman’s agent, Dave Lockwood, told Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson they wanted to resign, which the board accepted. Then the Forest deal fell through, Lockwood went back to say things had changed, the Ibrox board weren’t having it and all three were out by Friday.

Oh, and in his final press conference with the daily newspapers, indeed it was just about the last question he faced, Warburton was asked whether there was anything in him being linked with Nottingham Forest.

The answer was a resolute no.

At 9pm on Friday, February 10, Rangers, in a statement, said: "At a meeting with the management team’s representative earlier this week the club were advised that Mr Warburton, Mr Weir and Mr McParland wished to resign their positions and leave the club on condition that Rangers agreed to waive its rights to substantial compensation.

“Rangers’ agreement to waive compensation would assist the management team to join another club. This compensation amount was agreed when Rangers significantly improved Mr Warburton and Mr Weir’s financial arrangements before the start of this season.”

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That other club was, of course, the one Warburton joined this week.

A few days later, through the League Managers Association in England, the three men put out as statement which included the following: “Given that the club (Rangers) has seen fit to make detailed public statements, it is important that we should clarify certain matters and as such we would like to formally place on record, that at no stage did we resign from our positions at Rangers.

"It is a matter of surprise to us, and to the LMA, which is advising all three of us, that despite its detailed public statements, the club has not answered key questions put to it by the LMA, in writing, requesting an explanation of why it suggested that we resigned from our positions.”

The only denial Warburton, Weir and McParland made was over the resignations but the suggestion, indeed accusation, they wanted to go elsewhere with a third of the season remaining, and with Rangers struggling in the league, didn’t rate a mention.

It has been interesting speaking to journalists on the Nottingham Forest beat over the last day or two.

The club has been described to me as a “total and utter basket case” and “they make Rangers look like Manchester City in terms of how its run.”

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Why would Warburton and Weir go to a club in such a state and facing relegation when they could wait until the summer and while not exactly having the pick of clubs, could do better than a once fine English football institution which now finds itself two points above the Championship relegation places.

Or was this always the plan?

Warburton gave a brief interview to the local press yesterday in Nottingham and they asked about his time in Glasgow.

“I hope it will help me; you'd like to think that you learn something from every club you are at. It is an incredible level of expectation up there. But every job you take, you hope that you gain from it and get stronger for it.

"As a person you hope you are better for the experience and it was a big two years in Glasgow. But we have emerged from that and we are delighted to be here now."

They haven't emerge from to quite yet. to use Warburton's favourite word, it would be disrespectful if he didn't explain himself.