Joey Barton has aimed a wild dig at Rangers star James Tavernier for his inability to defend - whilst also downplaying his rivalry with Scott Brown as the two prepare to lock horns once again on Saturday.
Barton, now manager of League One outfit Bristol Rovers, will go up against Brown's Fleetwood Town in Saturday afternoon's third-tier clash. With Scott Sinclair in his ranks and a return to the Cod Army after managing the Lancashire outfit for three years, the fixture will be one to keep an eye on for fans of the Old Firm duo.
Much has been said about Barton's spell north of the border, where he self-proclaimed himself as the 'best player' in the Scottish Premiership upon his move to Ibrox in May 2016. However, poor performances and struggles at the club marred his tenure, which culminated in his contract being terminated in the midst of a training ground argument with Andy Halliday.
The highlight for Barton's spell in Govan was - for many across the city - the 5-1 loss against Celtic - in which his claims were brought crashing back to earth. But the Liverpudlian has poured cold water on his beleaguered performance - instead naming James Tavernier as one of the reasons the Light Blues suffered ignominy.
Barton said: "The actual game, when you watch it back. There was nothing between me and Scott, the actual encounter. The game actually developed everywhere else and in the last 20 minutes when (Philippe) Senderos gets sent off, I end up playing middle centre-back with James Tavernier right side and Lee Wallace left side, and I was comfortably the best defender between the three of us.
"I’ve obviously gone to Scotland and said ‘I’m going to be the best player up here’, which is probably the wrong thing for an Englishman to say, but I’m confident if I stayed up there I would have delivered. I knew I was way above the average player that was in the division and I knew the only difficult game we’d have that season would be Celtic.
"Brendan Rodgers had gone up there, they turned the corner after Ronny Deila and became more professional and because Rangers were back in the top flight, they narrowed their focus."
Rangers had yet to win a domestic trophy since their plight to Scottish League Two at this point, but Barton believes that the club could have ended their drought much sooner had the 'listened to him' before his departure.
"I think all of us comfortably accept there is a monopoly on who can win trophies, and at that time Celtic were so far ahead. I went there to close the gap. I knew they were ahead because Rangers were in the Scottish Champ, but I genuinely believe if they f****** listened to me they would have won the league a lot quicker.
"I’m still watching the same players I was criticising when I was in the building make the same mistakes, which is probably going to get the manager now, Gio van Bronckhorst, the heave-ho relatively soon. Certain people, who are meant to be defenders, can’t defend, and nobody’s done any work on them since."
Barton played just EIGHT times at Ibrox before he moved back to Burnley in the January transfer window after signing in the summer. He played just 18 times at Turf Moor on his return to the Premier League before his career came to an end after receiving an 18-month ban for gambling-related charges - thus forcing him into an early retirement.
