MARK WARBURTON insists he will continue to encourage his Rangers squad to have open lines of communication as they strive for improvement at Ibrox.

Rangers confirmed on Monday morning that midfielder Joey Barton has been suspended for three weeks following a training ground bust-up.

The 34-year-old was banned from Auchenhowie and missed the draw with Ross County on Saturday as Warburton’s side dropped another two points in the Premiership.

The Ibrox boss is an advocate of his players voicing their opinions and reckons it is still good to talk as the Gers bid to recover from a poor start to the campaign.

Read more: Joey Barton: I probably wouldn't move to Rangers if I could choose againGlasgow Times: Rangers manager Mark Warburton

He said: “Not at all (people speaking openly in the dressing room hasn’t changed). You can’t have one of the bedrocks of how you work in management and then change it.

“I really encourage opinion. I like opinion. During analysis, I don’t want people just sitting there.

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“The normal situation with some is that you do 10 minutes of analysis, players don’t say anything, you say ‘thanks very much boys’ and they get up and go out. Not with this group.

“We work hard to improve levels of communication. I’ve said many times that the better quality of communication, the better we will be as a team.”

Boss Warburton has not had his troubles to seek in recent weeks as his side have shipped nine points in the Premiership and crashed to a 5-1 Old Firm defeat at Parkhead.

The Barton issue is another headache for Warburton to solve and, in a statement on Monday, Rangers claimed that the 54-year-old and the club ‘believe that time and space is required for both the club and the player to assess all that has happened’.

It is a situation that Warburton could have done without at present but he is happy for his squad to knock on his door in the future.

Warburton said: “The environment we create here for the players and staff is about giving respectful opinion.

“I never have a problem with a player knocking on my door to talk about a session. But do it in the right manner, otherwise they will get a flea in their ear.

“It’s about being respectful in how we deal with each other. That’s the way society is now, it’s changing.

“It’s how you deliver the message that will always be key to myself and my staff.

“Anything like this goes towards the environment you create. The environment you create for the players and staff coming to work is vitally important.

“If they enjoy coming here, if they enjoy the work they do, leave here feeling they are better people and in a better place or condition, then we will perform better as a team.”