Derek Johnstone: Mark Warburton faces a big call over Joey Barton's Rangers future

After a month away from the training ground, he will meet boss Mark Warburton and only time will tell if he will be a Rangers player for much longer.

Mark has got to find out where his head is, find out if his attitude is going to change and find out if he wants to stay at Rangers.

When players are asked their opinion on how things are going and how things can improve, there can be harsh words shared in the dressing room. There is bad language, there are fingers pointed and I don’t mind that at all.

Read more: Mark Warburton: Andy Halliday is leading the way on and off the park at Rangers

Sometimes that is the best thing that can happen. Sometimes players need told by other players that they are not producing and when you get someone like Joey there are always going to be views expressed.

But there are ways of talking to people, especially the manager. You can’t speak to the manager the same way you do your team-mates.

Mark mentions respect a lot and I don’t think there was any of that when Joey spoke to him. That can’t happen and that was one of the reasons why he was told to stay away.

Read more: Mark Warburton: Andy Halliday is leading the way on and off the park at Rangers

If his attitude hasn’t changed then there is nothing Rangers can do about it and he is unlikely to play for the club again.

Joey and Andy Halliday would have had a right ding dong at training but I am told they then sat down and discussed it on their own and were fine. I think the squad will be fine if Joey does come back in.

When we had those discussions in the dressing room when Jock Wallace was the manager, you might have given your best friend a rollicking. But the next day you were fine and there were no hard feelings.

If you take the huff, you shouldn’t be at a club like Rangers. The players are all there for the same reason and they all want to win things.

If they can’t accept criticism, they are at the wrong club. If Joey does come back in to the dressing room, I think he will be welcomed back in. If the players feel he can do a job, then they will back him.

I don’t think it is make or break for Mark here. When Barton signed in the summer, the fans were excited at the prospect and they were looking forward to seeing him in the team.

But he hasn’t done it in the games he has played so far and now he is going to have lost any fitness and sharpness he had built up.

He can’t come back on Monday, train for a week and expect to be in the team against Inverness.

The Rangers midfield has looked a lot sharper since he hasn’t been there so if he does come back then he has a fight on his hands. Jason Holt and Josh Windass have added energy to the team and Halliday has really stepped up to the mark in the last few weeks.

If Barton does stay, I think he will find it difficult to get back into the team. He may feel he is the best midfielder at the club but the ones that have played recently look a better option than him.

If he wants to have a career with Rangers, his attitude has to change and his performances have to be a lot better. If he doesn’t then that could spell the end for him at Ibrox.

Read more: Mark Warburton: Andy Halliday is leading the way on and off the park at Rangers

But then you have to consider what happens to him? Barton is only a couple of months into a two-year deal.

Do you think Rangers will fork out nearly £2million and let him go? No, that is not going to happen.

Unless he agrees to walk away, which I don’t think any player would when you consider the money involved, then Joey Barton is going to be staying there.

I don’t know if he has breached his contract and that could give Rangers a way to deal with him. But they can’t afford to have a player taking home a considerable wage each week and doing nothing for it.

Joey said that if he knew then what he knows now then he wouldn’t have signed for Rangers and a lot of fans just want rid of him if he doesn’t want to be here. But it will cost the club too much money to just do that.

If he walks away, that is up to him and he will find a club in England fairly easily I would think. If there is no agreement, Rangers will have to welcome him back.

If he applies himself correctly and deserves to be in the team then Mark will play him. If not, he won’t.

The deal certainly hasn’t worked out as Mark would have hoped so far and what happens on Monday will be very interesting.

Joey is no stranger to headlines and, one way or another, there will be plenty more involving him over the next few days.