RANGERS boss Mark Warburton admits he is still waiting for Joey Barton to make up his mind on a move to Ibrox.
The free agent was pictured being shown round the Glasgow giants’ stadium and Murray Park training base last Saturday.
The 33-year-old – named Sky Bet Championship winners Burnley’s player of the year – has been offered a 12-month contract extension by Clarets boss Sean Dyche but is also mulling over Warburton’s proposal of a longer-term deal with Gers.
The Ladbrokes Championship winners believe the one-time England midfielder will give them the added steel they require ahead of returning to the top flight next season.
But Warburton confessed he has yet to be given an indication of Barton’s thinking. Asked if he was still waiting for a response, the Gers boss said: “Yeah basically.”
However, Warburton – speaking at the pre-match media conference for Saturday’s William Hill Scottish Cup final with Hibernian – remains confident.
He added: “Joey is a player that will have many, many suitors I’m sure. Our job is to sell the opportunity that Rangers represents.
“We’re never going to compete with wages down south, that’s an obvious point to highlight. But if we can show what we are as a club, the support, the history, the stature of the club and what our aspirations and targets are then hopefully any player will find that appealing.
“If they do hopefully we can conclude business. If not, we move on.”
A third trophy of the season would also have Warburton walking a little taller.
Gers will square up to the Hibees for the sixth time this season, with the Ibrox men 3-2 up on the five previous clashes.
But the manager does not expect any surprises when they meet in the season-ending showpiece.
“It would be a fantastic achievement to win on Saturday,” he said. “It’s a Scottish Cup final, there’s a European place at stake. For us it will be a great end to what has been a good season.
“The target was obviously the league. The Petrofac Cup was a bonus and beating Dundee and then Celtic here at Hampden earlier in the Scottish Cup was an even bigger bonus. But now we have to focus on finishing on a high
.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here