Warburton: Rangers not to blame over Lescott move

Mark Warburton has rubbished claims that Joleon Lescott's move from Aston Villa collapsed because Rangers failed to deliver on contract terms.

The former England centre-back backed out of a switch to Ibrox on Friday, leading to Villa chairman Dr Tony Xia pinning the blame on the Rangers boss.

He wrote on Twitter: "Lescott didn't feel happy with personal term missed [sic] which the boss promised.

"RDM [manager Roberto Di Matteo] & I are men clear with words!"

But Warburton, speaking after his side's 2-1 win over Motherwell at Ibrox, has branded those claims "absolutely nonsense" and insisted the defender decided against the switch due to family reasons.

He said: "Personal terms were all agreed but the player just decided to keep his family in Manchester. He's well settled with three young children.

"It's absolute nonsense to say anything other than that. The fact he's up here tells you that terms were agreed and there wasn't a problem with that.

"It's a big decision on the player's part and we understand that. But it's nothing to do with what I've read in the papers.

"We know what happened, the player knows what happened. To take your three young kids out of school is a big call on his part and we respect it."

Gers are now considering a deal for trialist Philippe Senderos, although Warburton insists he could look beyond the former Arsenal centre-back.

"We're looking at a number of options," he added.

"Philippe is in with us but it's important we make the right choice.

"Philippe has been first-class though. For a guy who's been training away without a team he looked fit and strong and his CV is very impressive."

Gers claimed their second victory of the new Ladbrokes Premiership campaign to remain top of the table after Kenny Miller's stoppage-time winner.

Scott McDonald gave Well a first-half lead when he tapped in from close range. But Harry Forrester swept home the equaliser midway through the second half.

Motherwell but boss Mark McGhee said he was feeling positive despite the defeat.

Asked how hard the defeat was to accept, he replied: "It's easy to take it. If you play poorly, you go away thinking how can we talk?

"You can't look each other in the eye, we're all down and wondering what we do next. We're scratching our heads.

"Instead of that we've got a lot to build on, a lot to be positive about.

"The boys can hold their heads high. I thought the performance was superb."