2026-08-10 · data

Акции Самолета подскочили на 13% на корпоративных новостях

Mark Warburton took to Twitter on Wednesday night. As Anthony Stokes will now attest, social media is a dangerous place to be angry.

Declaring himself 'bemused and frustrated' by 'inaccurate' media reports of Fulham's interest in his services, the Rangers manager felt compelled to deliver a slap down to unnamed media outlets.

But BBC Scotland were the main target after they suggested Rangers were aware of Fulham interest and would now throw cash at their manager to keep him.

This kind of thing wouldn't anger everybody. Agents – managers themselves – lob these stories at journalists like Quality Street on Christmas Day. Warburton's response to reporters gobbling up a tasty morsel in the midst of a quiet news week has been a confusing business.

Rangers manager Mark Warburton looks on with a stern face during training on Thursday

The former Brentford boss has been linked with the vacant manager position at Championship side Fulham

'Two weeks ago, when people said I had been linked with jobs, I said I was the Rangers manager,' he explained.

'I was asked that question, the BBC included, I gave the same answer, and then on Tuesday it was the same.

'I asked to be shown some respect. To do it again is malicious, inappropriate, whatever term you want to use. I think they are ignoring what I've been saying. I thought I had nipped it in the bud two weeks ago, then Saturday and then on Tuesday.

'And then on Wednesday I was forced to be stronger. That is not respectful of me, the club, the supporters and Fulham.'

There are some - within Rangers even - who feel it needn't have come to this. That the manager *could* have been clearer at an early stage by issuing an emphatic club statement nipping the Fulham business in the bud.

For his part, Warburton believes he *did* make himself clear. That he said repeatedly he planned to see the Rangers job through. By Wednesday night his exasperation reached breaking point.

Football's back channelling is no secret. Informal approaches are made every day. Managers enjoy the attention, deny anything is afoot then use the rumours as leverage for a new deal.

Five months into his Rangers contract, Warburton takes exception to suggestions he is party to anything similar. Respect is a big word in his vocabulary. Playing his employer for a mug before scuttling back south at the first opportunity is a game he claims to have no interest in.

Warburton wraps up warm as he issues instructions during training at Murray Park on Thursday

'Absolutely right. As I've said before, it's always flattering (to be linked). But let's be really clear, if it's about money you don't come north.

'And I don't mean that in a derogatory fashion, far from it. But the fact is the financial climate, as we all know, is healthier down south. So it's not about that.

'I've made the move here. My family know that this decision to come to Rangers was a big decision. My family are down south, I haven't seen them for four or five weeks or more. So I'm not going to turn tail after five months and say I didn't know what to expect.

'A lot of thought went into my decision. It's a big club, a great opportunity and a fantastic challenge. A lot of thought went into my decision. I'm driven to this challenge here.'

That Rangers are a different proposition from his last job hardly needs saying.

Media attention at Brentford was a fraction of what the Ibrox PR department fields on a daily basis. Inevitably, some of the many words devoted to this club are more favourable than others.

Warburton made it clear that his decision to come to Rangers was never about money

Warburton was unhappy at coverage of the League Cup defeat to St Johnstone and railed against the nonsensical notion that a draw at Livingston somehow equated to a mini-crisis.

All of which prompts an obvious question. How will be react to a genuine, bona fide Rangers crisis when it comes?

'There won't be a crisis,' he laughed. 'But if there is then it'll be up to us to deal with it. As Davie Weir rightly said, if there's a bad result then don't read the papers. If it's a good result, read the papers.

'The expectation comes from the supporters. It was here long before me and it' ll be here long after I've gone. But they also want to see players who are committed.

'Everyone can have a bad day at the office but as long as they see the players are giving them 100 per cent commitment then the supporters will be happy with that.

'At a club of this stature there are a lot of demands and a lot of questions. It's the same with the players, but it helps with David Weir and Jim Stewart being around.

Rangers remain three points clear at the top of the Championship after beating Dumbarton on Tuesday

'It helps that you can think of what you are going to say at these meetings and give some real thought to it. The danger in this role is if you walk in ill-prepared for whatever it is, a press conference, a training session, a pre-match speech. If you are ill-prepared at this level you pay the price and I can't afford to do that."