Chris Sutton has responded to Rangers boss Michael Beale by quoting former Ibrox manager Pedro Caixinha.

Beale took aim at the Celtic hero during a press conference yesterday when he labelled the pundit a "comedy act" and also slated him as the "worst ever player to play for Chelsea".

The comments were sparked after Sutton questioned Beale's sportsmanship against Partick Thistle in the Scottish Cup last weekend. The Gers boss allowed the Jags to score uncontested after Malik Tillman robbed a defender of possession when he was set to return the ball to the hosts.

During a radio appearance, Sutton said: “Here’s a question, just a yes or no answer. Do you think Michael Beale would have done that had they been playing Celtic?”

The question clearly touched a nerve with Beale as he took aim at the BT Sport pundit, and now Sutton has responded via Twitter.

He quoted Beale's comments and said: "The dog barks but the caravan keeps moving on??"

Sutton's comments refer to a statement made by former Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha.

The Portuguese flop used the old proverb to reinforce his belief that Rangers were heading in the right direction as a team, despite poor form.

Sutton clashed with Caixinha during a live BT Sport interview in 2017 as the former Celtic striker questioned his management.

On Sutton Beale said today: 

“Listen, there are pundits that are comedy acts. There are ex-players who are comedy acts.

“I don’t even want to answer that question because they are comedy acts and they are there to create intrigue. They don’t speak about the betterment of the game, they don’t help our game at all.

“All they do is bring it back down to the gutter. There are a lot of good things we can speak about in our game at the moment, at other clubs as much as in my club.

“I don’t know why people… Why is that where they go? At the end of the day, we don’t know, do we? If I had allowed that goal to stand and we had gone through in the cup like that, what would that have done for Malik? What would that have said about me and our club?

“And also, it seems like because Partick Thistle said it, that Ian McCall was getting the sack anyway. Then you guys would be questioning me that I took a goal from someone that lost his job.

“I think that day worked out about as well as it could have done when that situation happened. You see when people do that (question if same decision would have been reached against Celtic), I think we need to wise up in this country. There are people out there creating intrigue for intrigue reasons and those people, in my opinion, we need to mute them and quickly.”

Asked about the supporter's reaction to the incident and whether it will have an impact on his own approval rating, Beale went on to add: “I think the history will determine that. I don’t think anything I do right in this second will determine that. I think history will determine that.

“Emotions run high, they like one player and they don’t like another, one scores one week and isn’t liked the next. It is the role of the fan.

“Growing up, I was a fan of Chelsea. So there is one pundit around here who is the worst ever player to play for Chelsea. That is why I won’t mention his name because I try to forget him.”