Liam Burt discloses his reaction to hearing news Rangers had parted company with Mark Warburton

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Former Glasgow Rangers boss Mark Warburton was the man to hand Liam Burt his professional debut at Ibrox.

(L-R) Scotland’s Dan Meredith, Kieran Freeman, Liam Burt, Jack Aitchison, Tony Gallacher and Jamie Barjonas line up before the start

Rangers youngster Liam Burt has suggested that he thought that it was a joke when he first heard that the Gers had parted company with Mark Warburton, before insisting that he will always be grateful to the former boss, the Daily Record reports.

Burt was handed his professional debut under Warburton during Rangers’ promotion-winning season in the Championship, and subsequently added two more appearances to his tally before the former Brentford boss’ departure was confirmed in February.

And the 18-year-old explained that giving him that chance in the first-team is something for which he will always be thankful for.

“I had trained as normal on that Friday then later on I was going to the cinema to see the new Trainspotting film,” he said, as reported by the Record.

Mark Warburton

“When I was there, I got a message through saying the manager had gone. It came out of nowhere and I was as shocked as anyone else.

“Initially, I thought it was a joke until I checked it out for myself. My head was all over the place – but I still managed to enjoy the film!

“I’ll always be grateful to Mark for giving me my Rangers debut, it was a really proud moment at the time.”

New Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha

With Rangers facing an uphill battle in the race for second in the Scottish Premiership this season, it arguably seems somewhat unlikely that Pedro Caixinha will opt to use the youngsters too often, instead predominantly sticking with the more established names within the squad.

But if their final position is decided before the last few weeks of the season, perhaps the Portuguese will decide to turn to the likes of Burt and some of the other academy starlets in an attempt to get some of the hottest prospects at the club ready for an increased role during his first full season at Ibrox.