Barton played the full 90 minutes as Mark Warburton’s Glasgow Rangers side were taken apart by their bitter rivals.
Rangers’ Joey Barton looks dejected
Former Rangers defender Bob Malcolm has admitted that he was impressed by the maturity that Joey Barton showed during the Gers’ 5-1 defeat to Celtic, the Evening Times reports.
The 34-year-old played the full 90 minutes at Parkhead but was unable to prevent Mark Warburton’s men falling to a heavy loss that leaves them four points adrift of the Bhoys.
But while he failed to make a major impact on the game, Malcolm conceded that he was pleased to see that the controversial midfielder did not get caught up in the heat of the battle and lose his head in a manner that he may have done earlier in his career.
“I haven’t been in a situation in an Old Firm game where I have been beaten by that many goals before. But I have been in situations where you are two or three goals down. It isn’t nice. You just want to go around and boot somebody,” he told the Evening Times.
“In the past, Joey might have done something stupid in similar circumstances. I think he has actually shown great maturity to keep his head. He appreciates he is no use to the team when he is suspended. I am sure he will come good as he gets games and the team comes together.”
With Barton’s comments about Hoops skipper Scott Brown in the build-up to the game suggesting that their battle was going to be a key part of the narrative on Saturday, it would no doubt have been hugely frustrating to watch the Celtic skipper play an important role for his side, while he continued to struggle to get into the game.
But one thing that is for certain is that Barton will do everything he can in the coming months to ensure that Rangers go on the kind of run that allows them to put the defeat behind them as best as possible.
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