Rangers boss Mark Warburton hits back at former Celtic striker Chris Sutton...

[ian1964 10,410]

...over Ibrox squad jibe.

 

MARK WARBURTON has hit back at Chris Sutton and insisted his Rangers stars will ignore the jibes from the former Celtic striker.

 

Sutton claimed this week that Warburton would take the majority of the players at Ronny Deila’s disposal for his Light Blues squad and that the Gers were not good enough to challenge the Premiership leaders.

 

Rangers will face their Old Firm rivals at Hampden next month for a place in the Scottish Cup final as Warburton and his players set their sights on a Treble this term.

 

The Light Blues are within touching distance of clinching the Championship crown and will look to land the Petrofac Training Cup when they face Peterhead the weekend before the Celtic showdown.

 

Sutton’s comments won’t be the last that are aimed in the direction of Ibrox during the intense derby build-up but Warburton has brushed off the Englishman’s assertions.

 

He said: “Absolutely not [i don’t agree with it]. Would every Wimbledon player have walked into the Liverpool team when they won the FA Cup in 1988? I don’t think so.

 

“How many Leicester players right now would get into the Manchester City or Chelsea squad?

 

“You wouldn’t think there would be many. But Leicester are five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

 

“So everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I disagree with it.

 

“I have no idea [how many Rangers players would get in the Celtic team].

 

“I’m never going to talk about Celtic, Aberdeen, Hibs or whoever. It’s about us.

 

“The boys have done great so far. So to turn around and say they couldn’t get into another team is all supposition.

 

“It’s an opinion, which football is all about, and they are entitled to it. But I would clearly disagree with that.

 

“I’ve never met Chris. He is a pundit, so he is paid to give an opinion. When you make such statements, you hope you are right.

 

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/14332765.Rangers_boss_Mark_Warburton_hits_back_at_former_Celtic_striker_Chris_Sutton_over_Ibrox_squad_jibe/

[ian1964 10,410]

Football success comes before family switch for Rangers boss Mark Warburton

 

HE is laying the foundations but has yet to get his own bricks and mortar. The building blocks are in place for Rangers but Glasgow is not quite home sweet home for Mark Warburton.

 

The Englishman spoke yesterday about the significance of the fact that the players he brought north of the border in the summer were settling into life in Scotland. They have been joined by their partners, they have moved into new homes and have enrolled their kids in schools.

 

Since making the move to Ibrox last June, Warburton has made his mark on and off the field as Rangers’ football outlook has been overhauled. The results have been impressive to date and the outcome could be remarkable as his side bid for the Championship title and Petrofac Training Cup and Scottish Cup glory.

 

The Rangers family have taken him and his players to their hearts, but the relatives the Londoner leaves behind days for a time naturally remain at the forefront of his thoughts.

 

“Absolutely but, when you have a family and you have building work, and you have animals and everything else, there is a domestic life to be considered,” Warburton said when asked if he would buy a property and put down roots.

 

“So I could turn around and say yeah I’m buying a house. But who is looking after my dogs?

 

“We’ve got a job to do and, right now, I’ve got to commit to it.

 

“If I buy a house up here and my wife never sees me, she might as well be lonely down south. So I’ve got to make sure I can do the job here.

 

“It’s only eight months into a big job here – and I’ve got to make sure I’m good enough to do the job.

 

“If I am, and we achieve our target, you know what I’m going to do. I’ll join the local golf club, for sure. If I can get in.

 

“But right now it’s not about that. It’s about getting used to the city.

 

“Last night I was at the 20s game and didn’t get home until half nine. You don’t see your family.

 

“So, if I’m going to move my family up here, I’ve got to know absolutely that I can do the job, I’ve done the job – and I can keep on growing into it.

 

“So there is no lack of commitment. The lack of commitment would be if I was off playing golf, missing games or whatever.

 

“The commitment side is making sure the family can move up lock, stock and barrel.

 

“That’s important. They might as well be lonely in a place they know, with their family nearby.”

 

Come the end of his first campaign at Ibrox, Warburton could have three medals to his credit and be riding a wave of adulation from supporters as his thoughts turn to the next challenge and a shot at the top flight.

 

Guiding Rangers to the Championship title is only the first part of the job that Warburton has been tasked with. For all their success so far, greater ones must be forthcoming in future years if he is to leave a Light Blue legacy.

 

He may only be a few months into his Gers tenure, but the 53-year-old is entering into a key period. With silverware at stake, he knows the rewards are there to be grabbed with both hands.

 

Warburton said: “I’ve got a job to do. This is a harsh world.

 

“Last year at Brentford, there was a stage where I was the fifth longest serving manager. Ludicrous.

 

“I think it was eight months and two weeks for the average tenure of a Championship manager. Outrageous.

 

“So, for me, I know the job I want to do – I know what we want to achieve at Rangers. And it is a big job.

 

“It will be when I think we’ve achieved something. I’m sitting here right now having planned our pre-season, confirming our games, what we’re going to do, looking at players. That is great.

 

“Very naturally, as you achieve something, you can say: ‘Great, now I know what I can do here. I can do this job and grow into it’.

 

“It’s not about is Mark Warburton going to stay at Rangers. Do Rangers want him?

 

“It works both ways with football clubs. Everyone thinks it’s about managers walking away.

 

“It’s not. They have to do their job – and a club like this here won’t accept us coming third in the Championship. That doesn’t work.

 

“An achievement would be the title. Our job, very clear, is to win the Championship. Anything else is a bonus.”

 

Warburton may not have been joined by his family north of the border yet but he has surrounded himself with key personnel at Ibrox and Murray Park.

 

His strike rate in the transfer market has been impressive as he has transformed the Gers squad in recent months with the help of assistant manager David Weir.

 

They are the two figureheads of Rangers’ football operation, but Warburton reckons he has the best people for the job right down through each level as he rebuilds the Light Blues’ football department.

 

He said: “We worked really hard from pre-season, we did everything with the ball. I spoke a lot to you about the environment and the support staff.

 

“Everyone generally focuses their budgets on getting the best players. But you also need the best staff around.

 

“So I’m confident we’ve got the best staff around for the players. We’ve got people up from down south, we’ve got people from Scottish clubs. I think, and I believe Davie too, that we’ve got the best staff.

 

“That goes a long way to achieving success. The masseur is outstanding, the physio guys, the analyst, the chef in the kitchen — everything is outstanding.

 

“So if we can maintain that, and the boys enjoy coming to work, then they’ll also work well.

 

“Any job, if you enjoy going to the office and the environment’s good, it’s productive, then you work well. So I think the players here work very well.”

 

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/14332764.Football_success_comes_before_family_switch_for_Rangers_boss_Mark_Warburton/?ref=mr&lp=16

[barca72 440]

He's good, isn't he? He takes the lead, faces the subject head on and never insults anyone. Modern-day Bill Struth maybe.

[Doc 280]

Sutton is a has-been reduced to shit stirring to sustain his career as a so-called "pundit". He is increasingly heard on various BBC outlets spouting his ill-informed opinions and has slipped nicely into the cosy cabal of ex-Celtic players who are topping up their pensions at licence payer's expense.

 

MW is quality. He has responded with quiet dignity and treated Chris Sutton with what he deserves - contempt.

[Frankie 8,148]

Have to agree with Barca that I'm constantly impressed with MW's work in the media.

[BlueMazza 0]

“I’ve never met Chris. He is a pundit, so he is paid to give an opinion. When you make such statements, you hope you are right.

 

This is as close to a dig/insult you'll get from Warbs and it's still a good un

[Rousseau 9,361]

Respectful, but logically destroys the 'argument'. Excellent.

[MacK1950 2,231]

They say the pen is mightier than the sword but MW has proved time and time again that the proper use of the spoken language can be much superior.

[Big Jaws 570]

MW interview on Talk sport the other day was a breath of fresh air he completely extracted the urine with regards to the Scottish press. There's a very noticeable difference in interview when its not partisan.