Rangers have been written off before this season and that's why I think we can do it

Butland is a calm, collected character and his message stands to reason. A few months ago, Rangers weren’t even on the title premises. Now, six points behind leaders Hearts with nine games to go, they have a chance of landing silverware. And as the keeper points out, that would be an improbable end to the campaign given their dreadful start under former head coach Russell Martin.

It is why 2-2 draws with Livingston and Celtic, on the back of beating Hearts 4-2, and exiting the Scottish Cup to their Old Firm rivals are cast into the ether by Butland. There is no time to dwell on negativity. The 33-year-old wants to harness every ounce of positive energy available for this run-in - and wants his teammates to do the same.

“I think the biggest thing to do is to focus on still what we have done and where we've come from,” said Butland. “The positions that we've been in and written off so many times this year.

“Only when you've gone on such a good run can you then start to feel the negatives again, so it's not what we've got here and there. You would never hear it if we’d not got ourselves back in the fight with a real chance.

“The easiest thing to do in this scenario, within the last couple of weeks and things that are happening, is that you focus on the negatives, which is what everyone loves to do the most. The hardest thing to do is to ignore that. The hardest thing to do is to ignore that and focus on the good things that you have done.

“The wins against the teams around us that we've achieved in this league show that we really are capable of doing it, and the fact that we have ourselves back in the title race. The easiest thing to do would be to hone in on negatives, but there really has been so much positive things that we've done to get ourselves back in this position.

“That's the focus for me. And that's the most important thing for us as a squad — to realise what we've done to this point, to take that and make sure that we carry on to the last game of the season.”

‘We’ve answered those questions already’

Rangers’ mentality has been questioned since Butland arrived in 2023. They have come close to the title before and found the going too tough under Philippe Clement. There have been near misses at Hampden - only one trophy captured in the keeper’s time at Ibrox. Nevertheless, Butland senses a sense of character that can help them win the title, underlined by their recovery from winning just one league match before September.

“Without a doubt, because I don't think there's anyone that would look back at this group in September or October last year and think that it was capable,” said Butland. “The fact that we are having these discussions now shows that we've absolutely answered those questions already.

“You get to this end of the season, and one draw is like a complete damning opinion of everybody that we're not good enough anymore. That's just the nature of playing in this football club and what's expected of you.

“We've been in a lot worse position than we are right now. We're not in a bad position at all, we're in a great position. With the opportunity within a couple of weekends, best case scenario, you could be right at the end, you could be sat at the top. That's how close it still is. So, there's definitely not a feeling of things are out of reach, that we're not capable.

“I look around the squad and I see people, I see a lot of energy and I see a lot of people that are really excited for the last nine games of the season.”

Butland was asked what is key for the last nine matches of the season. “Just focus,” he replied. “Just focus and enjoy it. Enjoy the challenge, enjoy the fact that we play for an incredible football club. Enjoy the fact that we have an opportunity which so many people didn't believe we were ever going to have this year.

“Just enjoy it, enjoy training, enjoy the work, enjoy being around each other and just go into the game on Sunday with full confidence and belief.

“I don’t think that's a team that's struggling for belief or a team that's struggling for confidence. So that's how I feel about this group and I'm really excited about the rest of the games.”