'I believe...': Rangers star fires defiant message to teammates as Ibrox leader shows powers of recovery
The Rangers star bounced back from his mistake at Hearts - and now wants his teammates to follow his lead
It may have been lost amid the criticism of Rangers’ performances in the first half of the campaign, but goalkeeper Jack Butland has looked back to his best after a series of errors saw him lose his place in the starting XI at the end of last season.
So when Rangers slumped to a 22-year low of fourth at Christmas after a 2-1 defeat to Hearts earlier this month, it was hard not to feel pity for Butland when his mistake allowed Lawrence Shankland to net the clinching second goal just before half-time. The loss, which ended a confidence-boosting eight-game unbeaten streak, was a bitter pill to swallow for Rangers’ most consistent performer this term.
Not one to let his head hang for too long, though, Butland’s powers of recovery shone through once again in the 1-0 win over Motherwell at the weekend, making several huge stops as the Gers reclaimed third spot in the Scottish Premiership. As Rangers look to launch a genuine title assault in the second half of the season, the England international knows his strength of character will be needed once again.
“I'm not sure I've conceded a goal like that second goal in my whole career,” admitted Butland. “The scenario of it, the timing of it, the manner of it. This game's always got, especially goalkeeping, a way of reminding you that you're human and it's difficult. But the reality is I train for every situation, I train for everything, I push myself and that was just what I got back to this week. It felt great the minute I got back out on the grass because I know that I'm important, I need to be important for this team. It's the life of a goalkeeper.
“I'm not blasé about it, I don't not care about it. It's difficult but you have to move on and you have to just go past it. I feel like I've made some really important inputs for this team throughout my time here and certainly this season, early parts of this season and hopefully today, is just a sign that I can still do it and I believe I'm going to do it and help this team.
“I had a great time with my family and it was probably a time that I needed to have. Perhaps in younger years you could let things like that dwell and really start to leak into the following game and into the following weeks that just don't help you at all. Goalkeepers, we concede goals, some things we can do things about, sometimes we can't. It's part and parcel of it. The first 24-48 hours I wasn't too pleasant to be around.”
A chief commander in Danny Rohl’s squad, the stopper has challenged teammates to follow his lead and show their own powers of recovery. As the new year approaches, Butland believes Rangers can mount a serious title charge in the second half of the campaign, having reduced the gap between themselves and league leaders Hearts to nine points.
“I think why I feel confident is because we're not as good as we can be yet,” said Butland. “If we were, and felt like we were the finished article and everything was perfect and we were losing games and getting beat by things and being hard done by, then it might be. But the fact that we are getting better, still have a lot of room to get better, shows that we can close that gap and we can make it up. There's no doubt about that. But we have to keep striving to improve, all of us, keep getting better.”
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