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Rangers keeper Jack Butland accepts NOBODY believes they are title fighters but insists Ibrox inner sanctum is different
Jack Butland insists Rangers still believe they’re fighting for the title - even if no-one else does.
Philippe Clement’s side spilled another two points on Saturday as they were held 1-1 at home to Dundee United. It’s left the beleaguered Belgian and his team 11 adrift of leaders Celtic and eight behind second-placed Aberdeen just 12 games into the new campaign.
Butland isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet despite that huge deficit on Brendan Rodgers’ swaggering Celts. But the Ibrox No1 conceded few outside of Govan will give his side a chance. Asked if he believed Gers were still in the race for the Premiership crown, the Englishman said: “People might not think that - but you won't catch us not thinking that.
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“The reality, we know what it looks like. We know we need to perform better if we want to be in a title race.
“By no means are we out of it, but we've given ourselves way too much to do at this point. We need to start closing that gap and performances like that aren't going to help us.”
Gers were booed off yet again at full-time as they failed to see off Jim Goodwin’s team at Ibrox. An abject first-half display saw Sam Dalby give the Tannadice outfit the lead.
Vaclav Cerny dragged the Light Blues level midway the second half but it wasn’t enough to spare Clement his latest round of jeers. The boss is clinging to his job but Butland reckons his players deserve their fair share of the flak.
Asked how he felt about the stain Clement is operating under, Butland said: “It's part and parcel of it. It's on all of us. If you're not winning at Rangers, it's on all of us.
“Ultimately, the manager faces that and he has to face that more than any of us, but it's on us all. We're not in a position, we're not going to be pointing fingers. We've got to stick together.
“I completely understand the fans' frustration, rightly so. They turn up and support us everywhere we go, horrible conditions, great conditions, whatever it may be.
“They expect to see more. That's not just on the manager, that's on all of us.”
Gers return to action on Thursday in France as they travel to the Riviera to face Nice in the Europa League. While the Ibrox side are struggling at home, victory over the Ligue 1 side should be enough to guarantee them progress to the knock-out stages.
And Butland says his team needs to give deflated fans something to get excited about. Quizzed on when he thought the supporters are going to see a team that can hit competitive levels, he said: “Thursday.
“That's the reality of it. If it's not today, it's the next game, and it needs to happen. We've done it at times, and at times it's not enough.
“I'm not going to go into excuses. I'm not going to make excuses for anyone and anything. It's just got to happen.
“I'm sure you're sick of asking the questions, we're sick of having to answer them, but we're putting ourselves in a position to have to answer them. I don't think the performances and results are the only way it's going to give those fans encouragement.”