Rangers' Barton: Celtic skipper Brown 'ain't in my league'

Joey Barton hasn't wasted any time in adding fuel to the fire of the Old Firm derby, with the new Rangers signing suggesting he's far superior to Celtic captain Scott Brown.

The 33-year-old Scouser has never shied away from controversy, and his latest comments came after he took exception to comparisons between him and the 50-time Scotland international.

"People keep talking about Joey Barton and Scott Brown," he told talkSPORT.

"He ain't in my league. He is nowhere the level I am as a player. He can't get to me."

Barton joined the Gers after skippering Burnley to promotion to the Premier League and, when not suspended or serving a prison term, his combative approach and decent vision has shown him to be a competent performer - and one who thinks he's much better than Brown.

"If I play well, Scott Brown doesn't stand a chance. That is not me being blase. That is me just stating what I believe," the Manchester City academy graduate said.

Barton appreciates that the Scottish Premiership can be a tough-tackling league, and no derby is more fiercely fought than the one between Celtic and Rangers. He's confident he can cope with the rigours north of the border, though.

"I have been a marked man for 10 years - which is a lot of my own doing - and I am comfortable with that," he added. "I am comfortable with expectation, I'm comfortable with pressure, I'm comfortable with my mindset and focus I have in terms of turning in my own performances.

"If I get to that level, unfortunately for anybody up there, they ain't going to live with me."

Barton's considered a major coup for the Scottish top tier ahead of the 2016-17 season, along with Celtic's new manager Brendan Rodgers.