THE signing of Scott Arfield last week was heralded as a triumph for the pulling power of new Rangers manager Steven Gerrard, and there is little doubt that the chance to work with the man he describes as his hero had serious sway on the 29-year-old.

But one man you might not expect to have sold Arfield on the move, particularly given his recent radio output, is former Rangers midfielder Joey Barton.

Arfield and Barton are friends from their days scrapping away together at the midfield coalface for Burnley, and despite his own indifferent period at Ibrox, Arfield says his old pal urged him to leap at the opportunity to move back up the road.

“I spoke to Joe,” Arfield said. “He told me fully, 100 per cent, to go for it and take this opportunity.

“I understand that he left here on bad terms, but he certainly doesn’t bad-mouth the club in any way. He was full of encouragement about everything. How the place is run, the training ground, the fans, the stature of the club.

“I picked his brains because I am good mates with Joe and I wanted to get his version on things. He rubber-stamped this as the best move for me.”

Barton has recently been publicly scathing of Scottish football, a critique that has left many baffled considering his own struggles during his short stay in the country. But Arfield says the Englishman is actually hugely respectful of the standard north of the border, and that the reason he didn’t settle owes a lot to even Barton – no stranger to the media’s glare - underestimating the scrutiny he was going to come under in Glasgow.

“The standard [didn’t surprise him], no,” he said. “He expected it to be like that. He lived on Merseyside so he was used to living that way off the field and he is a big name around parts of England – and anywhere he goes.

“Up here, he got scrutinised again. It went on to another level and he maybe didn’t give that the full glare of what he should have done.”

In all likelihood, Arfield will not command the same attention that Barton did during his time in Scotland, but he concedes there will still be a period of adjustment for him as well as his nearest and dearest after swapping the relatively sleepy life that they enjoyed living in Huddersfield for the comparative goldfish bowl existence he will experience as a Rangers player.

Before taking that leap and exposing his family to everything that comes with playing for one half of the Old Firm, he looked for assurances from friends who have already taken that plunge, and was instantly convinced that whatever hardships he endures will be worth it.

And if new manager Gerrard can reinvigorate the team as Arfield expects him to, then the former Falkirk and Huddersfield man’s decision will only be vindicated further.

“I know Graeme Dorrans and Jamie Murphy and spoke to them on a number of occasions,” he said. “They only said good things.

“I spoke to players who have been at Rangers and Celtic about the off-the-field things your family needs to go through and the pressures of off-the-field living. It is something that I have never really had to deal with. I’ve been in villages and towns and it’s not been a problem.

“I obviously know that side of it is going to be under more scrutiny, so I had to make sure how to deal with it. It’s not just me signing for Glasgow Rangers. It’s everyone associated with me. They know I love them and they love me, so everyone has to be on the same page to make it successful on the pitch.

“[In England] I lived 40 miles away from Burnley. I still lived in my house in Huddersfield. It was only Huddersfield fans who really cared there, but even then, I wasn’t playing for them again, so they weren’t directly interested as Huddersfield have now gone on to better things themselves.

“You quickly get forgotten and that was nice for me because I could escape. I was quite happy living life with my little girl.

“Obviously, it becomes a different pressure because up here now is a different thing, but I’m at that stage of my life where I fully expect that. I won’t be caught in the headlights.

“Loads of people down in England don’t realise how big football is up here, but I feel quite secure in my thinking that I know how life is probably going to change. Hopefully, it is going to change for the better.”