Jack Butland opens up on Rangers future amid talk over stunning Premier League return
JACK BUTLAND knows the history.
That to be at Rangers, you can’t just be a No 1, you have to be No 1.
Now he wants to join the list of great Light Blues goalkeepers.
The Englishman was named the club’s player of the year by his team-mates and supporters in his first season at Ibrox.
This weekend, he’s the only goalie on the four-man shortlist for PFA Scotland’s top prize.
Victory would see him become the first keeper to win the award since Andy Goram 31 years ago.
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But a place in posterity is worth more to the 31-year-old.
Butland said: “You can’t really talk about Rangers without talking about trophies, without talking about success, without talking about goalkeepers.
“That’s the way it’s always been here, an incredible history of goalkeepers who the fans have loved like family, players who have their own nicknames.
“Great goalkeepers are part of the history of this club.
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“Some people might see that as pressure, but I saw this whole thing as an opportunity to play and show people what I believe I can do. What those guys who have gone before me have all done is won things. They’ve been serial winners, they’ve continually done so.
“To be mentioned among them, as some people have done, is an honour for me.
“But you have to back that up with trophies and hopefully we can do that.
“If we do, I guess it puts you in that conversation.”
Butland says neither January’s interest from Nottingham Forest nor the presence of England boss Gareth Southgate at Gers' 3-3 draw with title rivals Celtic did anything to shift his focus from winning trophies at Ibrox.
And he says his priority following a season where he didn’t play a single game for parent club Crystal Palace or on loan at Manchester United was just to be back playing again.
The nine-times capped keeper said: “If you’re performing well things like those ultimately do come.
“I’m happy here and I’m loving my time here.
“The England thing, despite it being something I’ve always wanted to do, wasn’t a target of mine.
“It wasn’t a case of, ‘I need to go to Rangers to get back in’.
“I just wanted to go to Rangers, enjoy what it is and enjoy being a part of it to play football.
“When I signed here, England and the Euros was not on my mind. Playing football was all I was thinking about, playing football for an incredible club.
“Ultimately, I just missed playing the game. I wanted to perform again and I wanted to show people what I could do.
“This game is what I love doing. I wanted to play because it wasn’t something I’d had the chance to do over the last few years.
“I guess I’m making up for lost time now.
“Gareth came up to the Celtic game, but I didn’t even know he was coming and I didn’t speak to him.
“It was a really positive thing that he made the decision to come. He’s not been up here a lot, but it says a lot that he did.
“Hopefully he comes up a lot more, especially for games like that, because they’re incredible games to watch and be part of.
“I’m sure he’ll be back up again to have a look, but I can only focus on what I’m doing.
“I’m enjoying every challenge that comes right now.
“Anything that comes with that England-wise is a bonus.
“It was something I always loved being part of when I was and which I want to be part of again. But that’s not a question for me.
“When there was a bit of interest in January my agent notified me of what was coming in. He had heard that.
“The club immediately said no and he asked how I felt about it and it was a no from me as well.
“It didn’t change anything from my side of things.”
Butland says winning the Viaplay Cup in December has given him a taste for more trophies.
He said: “It was sort of scary, in a way.
“But we had some good fun. It was an incredible day and an incredible few days after it.
“We didn’t get long to enjoy it because of the nature of this league and the demands placed on you.
“But it was an incredible day and it was really a taste of it.
“I can only imagine what it would be like if we could go one or two steps further with what’s to come.
“That’s something we can dream of and work hard to accomplish.”
Butland has 25 clean sheets in 53 appearances this season and admits he’s happy to have been worked hard in his first season at Ibrox.
He added: “I wouldn’t want to go through a season having nothing to do. That’s just being selfish.
“It’s your job and you want to contribute, you want to help.
“There have been times where you think you can be a bit tighter and there are always things you can work on.
“We debrief everything, how we can improve and do better, but I’m just trying to do my job for the team. I don’t overthink it.
“I see it like it’s up to me to be in the right frame of mind and it’s up to me to be in the right form and to help out when I can.
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“Just like it is when it comes to scoring goals. I’m helpless. You need your boys like James Tavernier and Cyriel Dessers to score big goals like they have done.
“It’s part and parcel of being a successful team. You need everyone to pitch in and do their bit.”
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