Mark Warburton: '˜At no stage' did I resign from Rangers

Former Rangers manager Mark Warburton has reiterated his stance that neither he, nor assistant David Weir and Head of Recruitment Frank McParland resigned from their positions at the club.

Mark Warburton, left, insists the version of events told by Dave King (centre) are not accurate. Picture: John Devlin

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The insistence was made in a joint-statement by the trio released through the League Managers Association. It comes four days after Dave King had his say on the management team’s exit from Ibrox.

According to Rangers, Warburton, Weir and McParland were jettisoned after they tendered their resignations in the hope of joining another club (thought to be Nottingham Forest). It was alleged the trio, through a representative, asked to be allowed to walk away with no compensation fee required for their services. The same representative is then said to have approached the board once more to ask for the resignation offers to be retracted. The board declined and released a statement on Friday evening, announcing their exit.

Shortly after the news first dropped, Warburton went on record to insist he knew nothing of his departure from the club. He, along with Weir and McParland, have now confirmed their version of events.

He said the statement: “Much has been said over the last few days relating to our departure from Rangers Football Club. At this stage, for legal reasons, it is inappropriate for us to comment in any great detail on our departure from the club. However, given that the club has seen fit to make detailed public statements, it is important that we should clarify certain matters and as such we would like to formally place on record, that at no stage did we resign from our positions at Rangers.

“It is a matter of surprise to us, and to the League Managers Association (LMA), which is advising all three of us, that despite its detailed public statements, the club has not answered key questions put to it by the LMA, in writing, requesting an explanation of why it suggested that we resigned from our positions.

“For all three of us, it was an absolute privilege to be given the opportunity to work at a club that is so rich in tradition and history. It was an honour to be given the responsibility of returning the club to the top tier of Scottish football and we are very proud to have played our part in successfully securing promotion back to the Scottish Premiership. Winning the Petrofac Scottish Challenge Cup and beating Celtic, in a memorable semi-final to reach the Scottish Cup Final, are experiences we will never forget.

“We sincerely thank the Rangers fans for their unwavering passion and dedication. We had the good fortune to meet so many outstanding individuals and supporters of the club and we will always value their words of encouragement. We wish them great success for the seasons ahead.

“The current group of players, together with the staff at the training ground and Ibrox, have borne the huge weight of responsibility of taking a massive club back to the top flight. They should be proud of their togetherness and their work ethic. It has been a pleasure to work with them, and we would like to thank each and every one of them for their commitment and contribution.”