QPR boss Neil Warnock: Joey Barton is far more articulate and clever than people give him credit for

Posted Thursday, October 13, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

Queens Park Rangers manager Neil Warnock claims his new captain Joey Barton has raised the club's standard of training by "50 percent" since his arrival and says he does not get the credit he deserves.

Warnock added that he thought Barton could forge a career in the media when he eventually finishes playing, describing him as "articulate and clever".

"Training has improved 50 percent since he's been at the club," Warnock told the Daily Mail. "He's far more articulate and clever than people give him credit for and I think he will have a career in the media when he's finished playing."

He joked: "He's come on so much in such a short space of time that I think he might be ready for my autobiography now, but I think we'll start him off on the pictures first, the words later."

The former Sheffield United boss also spoke of the need to keep his first-choice defense together following his side's 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Fulham.

"The Fulham game showed that we need to keep our back four together if possible – we need all hands on deck," he told West London Sport. "I do think that when we've got my first-choice back line we can get away with extra attacking players, but otherwise it is difficult and we will have to adapt. What we could do with is a couple of utility players who can play all the way across the back four."

One possible addition is out of favor Tottenham Hotspur defender Sebastien Bassong, and Warnock admitted he had made an unsuccessful move for the Cameroonian in the summer.

"We wanted him before and it fell through," he said. "I don't know yet whether we’ll go back in for him. We're looking at a number of players now. We're looking at options not just in this country but further afield as well."