Jack Butland has reassured Rangers fans he’s ready to return to top form after admitting that he slipped into ‘bad habits’ last season.
The former England goalkeeper endured a torrid campaign with a string of high-profile errors eventually leading to him being dropped from the team.
After describing that as ‘a kick up the backside’, the 32-year-old looked back to his best when he returned to action against Panathinaikos last week, producing three top-drawer saves as Russell Martin’s side took a 2-0 first leg lead in their Champions League qualifier.
Speaking for the first time about the most difficult campaign of his career at Ibrox, Butland acknowledged he had addressed his poor form in the early part of the summer, and now feels primed to reproduce the kind of performances which saw him touted for an international recall in his first year in Glasgow.
‘I had a good training camp in the summer,’ he said. ‘I looked at a few things that I felt I’d slipped into a couple of bad habits. And it just gives you a little bit of something to focus on, a different thing to look at.
‘And some things that I’ve taken into this pre-season with a sort of fresh mind … I’m really excited about the opportunity to work with the manager and what we’re trying to do here.
Jack Butland looked back to his best against Panathinaikos after difficult previous season
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‘Whenever there’s those question marks over you, I want to define my time here.
‘I love it here. I want to be here. So, that can hurt you.
‘So, for me, it was, I suppose, a bit of a kick up the backside, if you like.
‘Not like I needed it. But if there was any motivation I needed, that was added extra.
‘I know and believe I can be a huge, huge part of this club’s history and success. And I still intend to do that.’
Butland’s heroics last Tuesday provided the platform for Findlay Curtis and Djeidi Gassama to strike in the second half.
But while Martin’s men are in the box seat in the tie, the keeper is expecting the Greeks to come out with all guns blazing in the second leg in Athens tomorrow amid temperatures predicted to hit 37 degrees.
‘Yeah, they will and they need to,’ he added.
The Englishman makes another great stop as he helps Rangers to 2-0 win over Greek side
‘A lot of the work we’ve done is off the ball as well.
‘We’re going to have to be on it off the ball, press them into difficult areas and do what we need to do.
‘We were in St George’s Park a few weeks back, it wasn’t quite 40 degrees, but it was hot enough.
‘You know, we’re not far off our holidays so the boys have had some heat in recent weeks, so it shouldn’t be too much of a test and we’re certainly not going to use that as a concern.
‘It’s going to be difficult for both sides. We travel over there, we take our fans with us and we try and make a difference.’
