Former Rangers midfielder Joey Barton has indicated Celtic winger Scott Sinclair should forget about playing for England.
Barton had a short and acrimonious stint at Rangers and has been a vocal critic of the standard of football in Scotland, which he feels is way below par compared to England.
The former midfielder earned brickbats for his failure at Rangers and earned scorn for picking a fight with Celtic captain Scott Brown, but he insisted that the quality of the plays at Paradise can be easily gauged by noticing none of their big players had the courage to play in England.
He poured scorn over the suggestions that Celtic winger Sinclair, who had a great last season, was being ever talked up to play for England on the international stage.
The former Manchester City midfielder insisted that the standard of football in the Scottish Premiership is nowhere close to being good enough.
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Barton said on talkSPORT: “Look, career-wise I have had a better career than anyone playing at Celtic at that time.
“The fact that them boys have never come down here to test themselves in the big league says a lot about them.
“Who’s the geezer that they were trying to talk for an England call up, who had a stinker here – Sinclair.”
He added: “I have got a lot of respect for the traditions of Scottish football, Celtic, Rangers and the Old Firm, but the standard football, let’s be serious.
“The standards are pathetic up there.”
