RANGERS yesterday signed Burnley midfielder Joey Barton on a two-year contract and judging by his media appearances yesterday, they have signed a rather different and more mature man than the player of a few years ago.
The 33-year-old, who was capped for England just once back in 2007, became Mark Warburton’s fourth signing since the transfer window opened.
Barton had an eye-wateringly bad disciplinary record in the past but said yesterday: “People keep telling me I’ve mellowed. There have been times in the past where I may not have been on my best behaviour, but that’s all in the past.”
The ever-controversial Barton, who once tweeted he was a Celtic fan and said he might become a Catholic priest, is now an honorary associate of the National Secular Society and clearly has become a follower of Rangers.
He said: “I have watched them on a number of occasions. I am a football man and someone who is completely obsessed with football all over the world – I watch it constantly.
“I watched Saturday’s game with a lot more of a keen eye.
“You can only see so much on a matchday, but you learn a lot about your teammates in training when you are in and around them on a daily basis.
“I always think a team reflects what they do on a daily basis, and there are some incredibly positive things happening here – you can see the way the team carries itself and the performances and results they have had up to this point.
“I’m sure everyone at the football club – and certainly I include myself – is aware going into the top flight it’s going to be no cakewalk as football tends not to have a great deal of respect for history and tradition, and what you have done in the past – it’s about being in the moment and being in the present, and I can’t wait for the challenge to begin and to get out on the training pitch.
“I want to be part of a successful collective. You are only as good as your teammates here, and this is far from only being about one individual or one person.
“This team here now is a sum of the collective and they have some great traits within the team, and hopefully I can come in and add to that.
“I am obviously aware that it won’t be a case of me walking in the building and going straight into the team. There are some very good players here and the way you train and go about your business can hopefully put a marker down as what you’re about as a professional and as a human being.
“If that contributes positively to the group, and it always has done in the past, then I am very confident that this will be a phenomenal period of my football career.”
Barton can occasionally sound like something of a bighead, especially on social media, but knows who has the bigger profile.
He continued: “Rangers Football Club doesn’t need me to raise its profile. It is a huge establishment and is one of the powerhouses of British football, regardless of what has happened in recent history – that’s irrelevant and when you have hundreds of years of history as this great club has, you don’t need someone on social media raising its profile.”
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