Rangers defence has had a few question marks in recent seasons, however, since the arrival of Jack Butland, it’s safe to say that there has been an immediate improvement.
We scored plenty of goals the last time we won the league, however, it was the record breaking 13 goals against that was the most impressive and decisive factor in bringing the Scottish Premiership title to Ibrox.
Title winning squads are built on solid foundations and Rangers, in Jack Butland, finally have the base on which a season that seemed over at one point, might only just be starting.
Rangers case for the defence with Jack Butland leading the way
In 16 games, Rangers have conceded eight goals, the fewest in the league.
From open play, there is an expected goals against of 5.90 with only four conceded which means that 30-year old Butland is performing above expectations.
There are four teams who have conceded fewer goals than our four from set plays though and this is a cheap way to give Scottish Premiership teams a chance.
To show how much of a team game it is and that Rangers impressive numbers aren’t just down to Jack Butland, in terms of total shots, we have conceded 21 less than Celtic – our open play xG is also seven fewer.
Across the course of a season this makes a big difference.
If you consistently concede fewer shots and goalscoring chances, you will pick up more points.
Rangers biggest issue, as seen recently against Hearts, Aberdeen and Dundee is that we are gifting cheap goals to open the scoring, instantly putting more pressure on ourselves.
If Gers boss Philippe Clement is to continue closing the gap at the top of the table, this – and taking more of our own chances – has to be a priority.
Rangers defence is structurally sound and we have a first-class goalkeeper in Jack Butland who could easily have stayed in the Premier League, all we need to do now is cut out the lapses of concentration and individual errors.
Sounds easy doesn’t it?
