There is a well-known saying about the Rangers jersey not shrinking to fit the player, the player has to fill it themselves.
The Rangers manager is taking the brunt of the criticism due to the current position that the club finds itself in, however, the first-team squad needs to take a long, hard look at itself too.
One of those who is a mirror image of Rangers’ season is Jack Butland who, despite not being responsible, has revealed what he did in the aftermath of a result that saw fans calling for Philippe Clement to be sacked.
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Jack Butland on Rangers pressure after cup upset
Speaking after his 9/10 rated performance against Hearts, the Rangers No.1 was fully aware that one good result changes nothing:
“I wasn’t out and about for a start, you know, you learn to pick and choose your moments,” Butland said when asked how he survived the fall-out from the defeat. “But if you don’t enjoy that and if you’re not part of something meaningful, then you don’t like football and you don’t like the level of this club. It’s part and parcel of it.
“I’ve been at clubs where the intensity and demand is not quite the same to win every week and I can tell you that this is much more fulfilling than that, knowing that every game is a game that needs to be won. And it’s the end of the world if you don’t and it’s the top of it, well sometimes not even half, if you do win. But that’s the standard.
“For me, if you don’t enjoy this and you don’t enjoy being part of this challenge, then I don’t know what you’ll enjoy. It’s an incredible place to play, it still is, and I’m focused and the group is focused on bringing consistent winning to this club and that’s what it deserves. Fans deserve it too.”
Should Rangers have sold Butland after £6m offer?
A successful player trading model survives on selling players at the right moment, not just buying low, and selling high.
After just six-months at Rangers, Butland was the subject of a £6m bid from Nottingham Forest, a bid that was swiftly rejected.
It was understandable, given his form, with an England recall on the cards and a valuation set by Rangers of £10m-15m.
Forest bought Matz Sels from Strasbourg for £6m and the rest is history.
A sliding doors moment that now sees Forest sitting in the Champions League places in the Premier League, with no sign of them dropping out any time soon.
An extra couple of million pounds on the table, and Butland could well have been back in England’s top flight and in the national team squad.
