ALEX MCLEISH, the former Rangers manager, would love to see a Rangers clad Joey Barton going up against a Celtic side with Roy Keane in the dug-out.

McLeish believes that Barton will add a significant layer of glamour to the Ladbrokes Scottish Premier League next season if, as expected, he agrees a two-year deal worth an estimated £20k per week with Rangers. And the former Gers boss expects that his addition would put pressure on Celtic to step up their summer recruitment process for next term.

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"It would just ignite everything again,” said McLeish, when asked about the possibility of the controversial Barton potentially going up against Keane, who is the current frontrunner for the Hoops managerial position. “It would be putting Rangers and Celtic really on the map again because Scottish football has missed Rangers badly and I think everyone is relishing seeing them back in again.

“Of course it’s a statement of intent. Rangers are not coming back to consolidate. They are coming back to try to beat Celtic and win the league. That’s where you are judged.

“People feel Celtic are ahead of Rangers in terms of quality, but I don’t think there’s a big difference at all. I before the cup game the gap was pretty close and if Rangers are bringing in the likes of Joey, then Celtic are going to have to react. That’s going to make it more exciting for everybody.”

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Barton comes with significant baggage given his onerous off and on-field antics. The midfielder was jailed in 2008 after being convicted of assault and affray while he was given a 12-match ban by the English FA in 2012 after being charged with two counts of violent conduct in a final game of the season against Manchester City. Barton lost the plot in a 3-2 defeat which saw QPR relegated .

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McLeish, however, believes that the player has matured in the intervening years and expects it to be a signing that makes others sit up and take notice.

"He's maturing absolutely,” he said. “He's aggressive, but it's controlled and I think he would bring a lot of leadership if they were to sign him. I met Joey last year, we did some work in the Middle East.

“He said at the time he still felt he was a Premier League player and he was pretty disappointed with the confidence and belief he's got in himself that no Premier League clubs came for him when he went to Burnley. But he did say that he thought they had a pretty good chance of getting up this year and they did."

And if Rangers land their man then McLeish believes his addition will be reminiscent of the Graeme Souness ersa at Ibrox. McLeish was thwarted in his own attempts to sign Barton when he was manager of Aston Villa by Randy Lerner but he has always been an admirer of Barton’s footballing ability.

"It's a really ambitious signing,” he said. “When Rangers went through their revolution in the Graeme Souness era, he started bringing in some top English players in and this jogs your memory back to then.

"I felt we needed someone like him at Villa, but Randy Lerner wasn't keen on the idea on bringing him in. He didn't think it would be a good image for the club. But everyone deserves a second chance I felt. But it didn't happen. He was always a tough opponent when we were playing teams like Newcastle and I admire what he's done in the game. I know him quite well, he's a good lad.

“It would bring a bit of showbiz to Rangers and of course that's not what they are aiming to achieve with this signing, it's to be successful, but he would bring that kind of glamour. And let's fact it, that's been missing from the club for the last four years."

And McLeish is looking forward to what he believes will be an exciting campaign next season. Rangers’ defeat of Celtic in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final has set the tone for what is anticipated to be an intriguing campaign.

“It’s going to be great, “ he said. “It was looking good for a while with the prospect of Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs all in there, along with the likes of St Johnstone and big Yogi’s Inverness, who have all been getting results over the last few years. It will make for an exciting league.”

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Alex McLeish was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is the proud sponsor of the Scottish Cup.'