Rangers hero not surprised to hear Andy Halliday was involved in Barton bust-up

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The two players fell out in the wake of Glasgow Rangers’ 5-1 defeat to Celtic, leaving Mark Warburton to take drastic action.

Andy Halliday

Rangers hero Derek Johnstone has admitted to the Evening Times that he was not surprised at all to hear that Andy Halliday was the player that became involved in an altercation that led to Joey Barton being temporarily banished from the training ground.

Barton confirmed to Talksport on Friday he had been banned from Murray Park with the Evening Times reporting that it was during the enquiry into the 5-1 defeat at the hands of Celtic that things got out of hand between the summer signing and the 24-year-old.

Joey Barton

And while Barton’s colourful past means that few would have been surprised to hear of his actions, Johnstone has explained why he was not shocked when he heard about Halliday’s involvement in the fracas.

“I wasn’t at all shocked in the slightest when I read in the Evening Times that it was Andy Halliday who had become embroiled with Barton,” he told the Evening Times.

“Because here is a guy who knows what it is to be born and bred a Rangers fan, belonging to a family who are all Rangers fans, and who would have been hurting after the fashion and magnitude of that defeat last week.

“To then turn up for training, and to hear Joey Barton sounding off about what everyone else did wrong, would have been enough to tip anyone over the edge.”

In many ways, the incident may prove to be a positive step for the club as they look to re-establish themselves in the Scottish Premiership.

Rangers manager Mark Warburton

While Mark Warburton would have surely been hoping that the incident would not be made public, he may have taken some satisfaction from the honesty and the passion that appears to have led to the altercation.

And if he can get the entire team signing from the same hymn sheet in the wake of the incident, there is a possibility that the problems could make them stronger in the long-term.