Jack Butland is an upgrade on Rangers veteran Allan McGregor says Kris Boyd as he insists No1 can become an Ibrox legend
DURING my lifetime, Rangers fans have been spoiled with top-class goalkeepers.
From Chris Woods and Andy Goram through to Stefan Klos and Allan McGregor.
Jack Butland has only been at the club a few months but he is already on his way to joining that elite list.
There is a quiet arrogance about the Englishman — and I mean that in the best possible way.
Butland has oozed confidence and been assured on and off the park from the minute he walked through the front door.
It’s not easy to be a keeper at Ibrox as you are under the microscope in every single game.
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But he has made it look that way at times this season despite the team coming in for a fair bit of flak.
Throughout Rangers’ early-season trials and tribulations, he is the one player who has been exempt from any criticism.
At 30, he is still relatively young for a keeper and his best days could still be ahead of him.
If he wanted, he could be at Ibrox for another decade.
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If that is what he opts for, then I’ve no doubt he would become a club legend. He’s that good.
It was vital Rangers found themselves a top No 1 in the summer. One who’d put his own stamp on the team.
McGregor’s gloves were big ones to fill but Butland has done that and then some.
He is most certainly an upgrade on Greegsy (right) towards the end of his brilliant career.
Though that is not to say he is a better keeper overall. Yet.
I have been critical of the Ibrox recruitment recently but fair play to whoever pushed for this deal to go through.
Rangers needed someone with real stature between the sticks.
There has not been a highlight reel of amazing saves but, for me, that is a sign of a good keeper.
Butland is almost always in the right position so he doesn’t have to produce loads of wonder stops.
He is terrific at taking pressure off his back line by coming for crosses and good on the ground off both feet.
The only worry for Michael Beale would be if decides to head back to the Premier League.
Clubs down there can financially dwarf Rangers and he could easily double or treble his wages.
Still, he could have stayed in England but he made the decision to move north for a new challenge. That says a lot for him.
Maybe we should just enjoy him while he is here, but it would be a huge shot in the arm if he stayed for the long haul.
The England international carries himself with a bit of class.
He’s a proper leader and Rangers have been short on them over the past few seasons.
The fans have taken to him because they can appreciate his quality and because he seems genuine.
You don’t have to play to the crowd on the park and on social media to win over the support.
Just do the business on the pitch and they will always have your back.
Butland appears to be a reassuring presence behind Ben Davies.
The central defender looked to be on his way out of the club in the summer.
However, on Thursday night against Real Betis he proved he still has a future in Glasgow.
That was his best performance in a Rangers shirt since moving from Liverpool.
Last term he had a few rough moments and he has also been plagued by injury.
Maybe he was just trying too hard to impress and it wasn’t clicking.
Against Betis, it looked a lot like he was relishing the battle and enjoying defending.
He was up against top players, but he handled it superbly.
John Lundstram is another one who has come in for a bit of stick of late but he looked more like his old self.
Afterwards Beale refused to get carried away with the victory.
He was quite measured and stressed the importance of building on the last two weeks against Motherwell on Sunday.
Stuart Kettlewell has done a terrific job at Fir Park and this will be far from a gimmee.
They are a hard nut to crack on the road and it will be a totally different game from midweek.
Rangers now have three home games on the spin with Well, Livingston and Aberdeen all rolling up at Ibrox in the next eight days.
The Dons gave a good account of themselves in Frankfurt and were unlucky to come back empty-handed.
Celtic never looked in any danger earlier in the week against Feyenoord before imploding in the second half and getting two men sent off.
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Results-wise, it wasn’t too great for Scotland’s co-efficient so it was good to see Rangers carrying the flag for the country in Europe.
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