David Weir: Rangers won't try to change Joey Barton - but he must back up his words with actions at Ibrox

But the Light Blues assistant manager knows the most high-profile signing of the summer in Scottish football must be able to back up his words with actions on the park this term.

Barton has yet to train with Mark Warburton’s side after putting pen-to-paper on a two-year deal and will join up with the Gers squad when they return from their pre-season training camp in Charleston later this week.

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The 33-year-old has already made an impact at Ibrox, though, after aiming jibes at Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers and captain Scott Brown and laying out his title ambitions.

Barton will be the player that opposition fans love to hate in the Premiership this term but Weir insists he and boss Warburton know what they have bought into by bringing the Englishman on board.

He said: "I'm sure I played against him. He'll bring a presence both as a person and a player.

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“He was the best player in the Championship last season. It's no mean feat to play in that league, with the number of competitive games there are.

“Playing week in, week out you're getting challenged and Joey challenges himself both individually and as a team-mate. He's constantly looking for challenges and accepting challenges.

“To do that and get to the level he's playing at, we've done unbelievably well to get him. We put a lot of time and effort into getting him here.

“Frank (McParland) has been working on it for a long time and to enable us to get that calibre of player in unbelievable for us. To be honest, I'm really surprised we've done it.

"I think it comes with the territory with him. We're not going to change him and I don't think we want to change him. Joey's successful because of what he does.

“The thing with him is that if he throws down the gauntlet then he has to live up to it. That's the nature of him.

“There's no point in us bringing somebody in and then saying 'this is what we want from you'.

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“We've done our homework - we know what Joey is and we hope we know how to get the best out of him. So that's our job.

“We have to trust him, we have to embrace what he is and use it to our benefit.”

The capture of Barton was a significant coup for Rangers as the midfielder spurned a shot at the Premier League with Burnley to make the move north of the border.

And Weir is confident the former Manchester City, Newcastle United, QPR and Marseille star will play a key role as the Gers set their sights on the Premiership crown.

He said: "He enjoyed the challenge of winning the league because it's a difficult league to win.

“That's a big part of it as well - he's a winner. We need as many winners as we can here because that's what being here is all about.

“We need to be successful and to do that you need successful people in your team, people who know what it takes to win, who enjoy that feeling and who don't like losing.

“Joey fits the criteria. It's a great signing for us, on and off the pitch.”