GRAEME SOUNESS reckons Joey Barton will live to regret seeing his brief Rangers stay end in disaster.

The former England cap earned just eight appearances in light blue, his last coming in the 5-1 Old Firm hammering to Celtic back in September.

That game soon led to a training ground bust up which ultimately ended his time at Ibrox with the 34-year-old now training with old side Burnley after a deal was reached to free him from his Ibrox contract.

Souness worked with Barton through media duties at the summer's Euro 2016 tournament in France and was both surprised and impressed by his knowledge and intrigue on all things Rangers.

Read more: Graeme Souness on Warburton, Dave King and the future for Rangers

And it is this time spent with the Englishman that has Souness sure Barton will be frustrated a bright future could not be forged on Govan.

“I’m sure he’ll regret it hasn’t worked out, I’ll guarantee that," said the former Rangers manager.

“The manager will look back. I look back on many an occasion and wish I’d done something differently. Maybe Mark thinks that, you’d have to ask him.

“There’s always a way around a problem. When you are young sometimes you don’t make the right choice.

“Yeah it was a gamble but I was reassured. I worked with him at the Euros. I hadn’t met him but I worked with a guy who was knowledgeable about his football, had done his homework on Glasgow Rangers and never stopped asking me questions about Glasgow Rangers and was determined to do well. I was taking back.

Read more: Graeme Souness on Warburton, Dave King and the future for Rangers

“I was expecting to meet this wildcard but he wasn’t, he was sensible, knowledgeable and desperate to do well at Rangers.

“Without probably knowing it, he quickly realised how big a club Rangers are and it’s not happened for him.

“I don’t know the circumstances, what was said or how it was said so I can’t comment. But these things happen, not all signings work out."