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Joey Barton says he has no regrets over Rangers move

Joey Barton in action during match between Rangers and Hamilton Academical
Image: Joey Barton made eight appearances for Rangers earlier this season

Joey Barton insists he has no regrets over his move to Rangers and no bad feelings towards anyone at the club.

The 34-year-old ended his brief and ill-fated spell at Ibrox in November after being ostracised for two months.

The midfielder was suspended following a training-ground row in the wake of a 5-1 defeat to Celtic, but says he has no bitterness over the way his high-profile summer move to Glasgow worked out.

Although unable to discuss the incident and discussions which led to his exit under the conditions of his severance deal, Barton told the BBC: "It was an opportunity I couldn't let pass. I would do it again. It's a great football club. It's a phenomenal place, it's completely unique.

"The only regret I've got is not playing football now. No player wants to miss football when they're fit, especially not when you're 34 and you don't have another 10 years to play and everyone else is playing football and you are like: 'I would really like to be doing that right now'.

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"My last game for Rangers was a defeat in the Old Firm at Celtic Park. Nobody wants to do that, nobody wants to play eight games for a club, you want to have more of an impact, certainly for the amount of backing the fans gave me and the belief they put in me and for the football club to get me there in the first place. So, incredibly disappointed.

"I've got no issues with Rangers, Rangers is a fantastic football club. I have no issues with Mark Warburton, no issues with Davie Weir, no issues with anyone on the board.

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Joey Barton leaves Ibrox after holding talks over his Rangers future
Image: Barton departed Ibrox last month

"Life is too short to look back and hold on to things and think, 'If I could have played that way, or done it that way, this would have happened'."

Barton, who has been training with former club Burnley, added: "I'm focusing on the future, I've still got that bit about me where I step back south of the border and have an enormous amount of credibility and people want me to come to the football club.

"My phone has rung a number of times about where I'm going to be in January, so I'm lucky."

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