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Rangers flop Joey Barton has blasted former boss Mark Warburton as 'weak' and has opened up on his concerns over sectarianism in Glasgow.

The 37-year-old had a controversial spell at Ibrox and reflected on his time at the club during a podcast with Alastair Campbell and the spin doctor's daughter Grace.

Barton was signed by the Light Blues in May 2016, but after only eight games and a training ground bust up with Warburton, an agreement was reached to terminate his contract just six months later.

He said: "I went up to Rangers, walked around that trophy room, seen Ibrox, seen the training ground, I thought 'OK, this is a bit of me'.

"Somebody needs to come here and resuscitate this football club.

"This manager (Warburton) for me is maybe a little bit weak, lacks lots of things. I think you need to become the leader of a footballing institution, but I can help him.

(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)

"And, at 33 this is a great project, that takes me to 35, 36."

He also claimed his Rangers tenure became "untenable" and one of his "failings" was his lack of understanding of sectarianism in Scottish football.

Asked by Alastair if the "unmanageable Barton came out in Glasgow", Barton responded: "No, I got myself into a position that's untenable.

"I remember when I went up to Glasgow, part of my failings up there was that I missed the key thing, which was I actually don't give a s**t about what religion you are - it doesn't bother me.

"The school that I went to was Saint Agnes. Across the field was Sylvester. Catholic-Protestant, Celtic -Rangers, Everton-Liverpool - nobody cared.

(Image: SNS Group)

"You were judged on your merit. When I went up to Glasgow I realised there's something at play here that's not just judging someone on their merits."

He added: "Could I have handled it different? Yes, 100 per cent I could've. I was giving up playing in the Premier League to go and try reset an institution of football's daily procedures, which needed resetting."

Barton also claimed he couldn't stay on at Burnley because his wage demands were too high for the Lancashire's club's wage list.

He said: "So I go to Rangers, Rangers offer me a lot less than Burnley, but roll out and offer me a lot more love."