JOEY BARTON will remain under suspension by Rangers until his representatives agree a new date for his disciplinary hearing.
The midfielder has been away from the club since first being banned in the wake of a training-ground incident in September.
He has since been charged by the SFA for breaching rules regarding gambling.
Barton was due to have his club issue heard on October 13, but it was postponed at his request.
A new date for the meeting has yet to be fixed. When that will be will require Barton’s representatives to contact Rangers to reach an agreement.
As Barton is unable under HR protocol to return to training until the business is concluded, that effectively means he will stay suspended until he decides otherwise.
The 34-year-old, who remains on full pay of some £20,000 a week, joined the Light Blues from Burnley on a two-year deal in May.
A statement from Rangers on the issue read: “The disciplinary hearing scheduled for October 13, at which Joey Barton was to appear, was postponed at the player’s request.
“A new date will now be agreed between both parties, which means Joey’s Barton’s suspension will continue until a reconvened meeting has taken place. Neither party will make any further comment.”
While the longer his exile continues, the less likely it is that Barton will play for Rangers again, it is clear there is little enthusiasm within the club for the situation to be resolved through a big pay-off to the player.
That being the case, a protracted negotiation over a parting of the ways seems likely to be on the cards in the weeks, if not months, ahead.
The Englishman has made eight appearances for Rangers, the last of which was the defeat in the Old Firm derby.
Meanwhile Mark Warburton has promised that his team will attack Celtic in next Sunday’s Leage Cup semi-final.
He said: “If there was one thing I would change from the last Celtic game, it is that we should have been playing more on the front foot.
“We went into that game lacking a little bit of self-belief.
“We went into the Scottish Cup semi-final last season with no lack of belief at all, and absolute confidence in what we were going to do. It has to be that way.
“New players arriving and trying to bed them in weakens that self-belief because you haven’t built it yet.
“I’ve put my hand up about this season’s first game against Celtic, and said the midfield was Joey Barton, Niko Kranjcar, Josh Windass – three new players .
“Philippe Senderos was playing his first game other than 90 minutes against Linfield, and Joe Garner hadn’t long arrived.
“So we had half of a new team, and maybe in hindsight there were too many changes.
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