Exclusive:Ex-Scotland man lifts lid on Rangers fall-out as he reveals major Celtic regret - 'lots of crossed wires'

Joining Rangers on a season-long loan from Manchester United at the beginning of the 2006/07 campaign as a highly rated 20-year-old, he played just five games before being sent back to Old Trafford following a major training ground bust-up with former manager Paul Le Guen.

Following a strong tackle on teammate Thomas Buffel ahead of a vital UEFA Cup clash vs Livorno, the defender was immediately dismissed from the training pitch by Le Guen, ultimately ending his time at Ibrox. Bardsley would go on to make over 300 appearances in the English Premier League for the likes of Sunderland, Burnley and Stoke City, but admits he still looks back on his time in Glasgow with a tinge of frustration.

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“I look back now that I’m a bit older and I think they could have handled things a little bit better,” said Bardsley. “There were a lot of crossed wires. He was a French manager who didn’t quite understand what I was trying to do. There was nothing malicious in the challenge. It’s just the way I’ve always trained. It’s the way I played. That’s the way it is.

“It was disappointing because I still had three months left on loan there and I was left in limbo but I was young and trying to make an impression at the club because I wanted to play every week, every game. Maybe everybody could have dealt with it a bit differently but also that’s how you gain experience sometimes. That's why you go to these places and develop as a player and as a person.”

The disagreement with Le Guen meant he never wore the royal blue again before his time in Govan was cut short in December 2006, just weeks before the Frenchman was sacked and replaced by Walter Smith. Despite that, Bardsley admits his biggest regret came in the weeks leading up to the training ground fall-out.

“I got sent off against Hibs after picking up two yellow cards,” recalls Bardsley via an interview with Casinolyze. “The second one was for not retreating five yards at a corner. I missed the Old Firm because of that sending off. Honestly, it summed it up, that did. When you’re young and hot-headed you want to prove yourself but missing a game like that...It's the game I went on loan to Rangers to play in!

“It was the one I’d been looking forward to more than any other. My first day through the door I was asking when’s the Celtic game on the fixture list? Then I go and get myself suspended for it the week before. Typical. Playing in Glasgow it really is like living in a goldfish bowl. You can’t escape it.

“When you’re in Manchester, there are certain areas where you can go to get away from it all but when you live in the middle of Glasgow, it’s very difficult to do that, for good and for bad. That’s the pressure that comes with playing for an elite club like Rangers. You go up there and you see and feel the history of Ibrox and the Murray Park training ground, and it’s exactly where you want to be as a young kid going out on loan to a club like that. What a great experience.”