Joey Barton tweets response to reports of training ground altercation

Joey Barton's Rangers future was looking pretty bleak a few hours ago.

According to reports, the midfielder had been sent home from training earlier in the week, following a 'bust-up' with coaches and teammate Andy Halliday at the club's training ground in the wake of Saturday's 5-1 Old Firm defeat at Celtic Park. In response to the reports, Barton has tweeted his own version of events, confirming that he will not be with the club until next Monday. Acknowledging that a 'full and frank discussion' about the defeat had taken place, Barton explained that there were 'only words involved in the disagreement', before apologising for the part he played in it. The 34-year-old also adds that Rangers boss Mark Warbuton had deemed what Barton had said to be inappropriate and had asked him to go away and reflect on it. Barton goes on to explain that while he did not see it as necessary, he respected Warbuton's decision and would return to training on Monday. https://twitter.com/Joey7Barton/status/776535490493288448 Signing off, he writes: 'I hope this clarifies the situation and puts to bed all the other speculation and nonsense. Rangers need to get back to winning football matches. This is the most important thing for me now.'  Read more: