Warburton takes his Glasgow Rangers side to Parkhead for the first Old Firm game of the season on Saturday.
Rangers manager Mark Warburton
Former Celtic midfielder Alan Thompson has suggested that Rangers boss Mark Warburton may want to include a holding midfielder in his line-up for the first Old Firm game of the season due to the Hoops’ pace in attack, The Scottish Sun reports.
Brendan Rodgers’ men have had little problem finding the back of the net this season. And while much of that has been down to Leigh Griffiths’ form, the speed with which the likes of Patrick Roberts, Scott Sinclair and James Forrest attack has also been a key reason for their success.
Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths has continued his excellent form
And Thompson suggested that not providing the defence with more support could prove to be a big mistake for the Gers.
“Judging by the way Celtic are going forward, they could pose Rangers a lot of problems if they don’t tighten it up,” he told The Scottish Sun.
“The manager might want to put someone in front of the back four just to protect the centre backs, I don’t know.”
Should Warburton be thinking along the same lines, it is very possible that he will ask Joey Barton to fulfil that role of sitting just in front of the back four.
And Thompson – who was on the coaching staff for some of the time that Barton spent at Newcastle earlier in his career – has also offered the Gers’ summer signing some advice ahead of what promises to be a fiery encounter with Bhoys midfielder Scott Brown, the Daily Mail reports.
“He does do a lot of talking Joey, but if I can give him any advice I would say, ‘Go and do it on the pitch Joey, don’t do it off the pitch, do it on it’, because he is a good footballer,” he told the Mail.
With Barton often saving his best performances for the games that see his side go in as underdogs, the Old Firm clash may be the contest he has been waiting for to showcase his best form for the Ibrox club.
The potential responsibility of having to help the back four keeping the home side at bay may bring the best out of Barton.
And Thompson is convinced that if he can keep his head, he will definitely have a say in the match.
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