sport news STEPHEN McGOWAN: Wrath of Rangers fans will be inescapable if Butland and Co ... trends now
TO SILENCE that mouthy supporter last week, Jack Butland should have dug out the old Dean Saunders line from the nineties.
Edging towards the fag end of his career, the Welsh international was going through a barren spell at Sheffield United when a frustrated Blades fan gave it the old ‘I pay your wages’ routine. Saunders shut him up instantly by asking if his match ticket now cost ten grand a week.
Butland has proven his worth to Rangers with a series of match-winning performances. He’s under no obligation to line the pockets of entitled bozos chasing a signed shirt to flog to the highest bidder on eBay.
Caught on camera fighting his corner after a 4-1 win over Kilmarnock, the keeper is the very last player any supporter should be digging up now. It’s thanks to him that Philippe Clement’s side travel to Parkhead with any chance of winning the title at all.
If social media is anything to go by, he got off lighter than others. Borna Barisic was so irked by the performance appraisal of another gobby punter he finally discovered the fight missing that time Liel Abada picked his pocket at the back post at Parkhead.
Even Clement showed signs of feeling a bit of tension when he accused opposite number Brendan Rodgers of showing a lack of respect towards his players.
In isolation, none of these incidents matter a jot. Put them together and they pose a question.
Jack Butland was moved to defend himself against criticism of the time he gives to fans
Borna Barisic has long been a source of frustration with supporters and it finally spilled over
If Rangers players and management allow a bit of pre-match verbals to tug their chain, how will they cope with 60,000 Celtic fans booing their every move?
If Barisic and Butland think the fans last weekend were out of order, they should probably steel themselves for what lies in wait if they surrender the title to their biggest rivals.
There are days when a bit of the old Jock Wallace jungle spirit is called for. A military man stationed in the Malay Peninsula in the 1950s, Big Jock ordered his players to run up and down ‘Murder Hill’ at Gullane Sands until they threw up. When they had nothing left to give, he told them to do it all again in the relentless pursuit of ‘character’.
An intangible quality, character can’t be coached in a footballer. They either have it or they don’t. And three years without a meaningful victory over Celtic leaves ample room for doubt over the character levels in this Rangers dressing room.
Unsettled by the wind-assisted press of their opponents at Ibrox last month, they lost an awful goal after 21 seconds. While Clement praised the fightback of his players, moral victories don’t win trophies.
The concession of more points against Ross County and Dundee raised further doubts over this side’s ability to go the distance in the league.
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For Rangers players, an ability to beat their biggest rivals is non negotiable. The day he was unveiled as manager, Graeme Souness claimed he’d settle for never beating Celtic if his team won
