Butland lauds 'brilliant' Gers duo 'stepping up' to keep Lyon at bay in Europa League
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Jack Butland has probably been the most valuable contribution that Michael Beale made towards Rangers in his short tenure as Rangers boss.
Current manager Philippe Clement didn't inherit a great squad, however, the number one position was as safe as it could be.
This summer has seen Clement rebuild the defence after selling Connor Goldson and seeing both Ben Davies and Borna Barisic leave too with Butland giving his opinion on the two players currently tasked with protecting him.
Jack Butland happy to be the quiet man in Rangers defence
Against Malmo, John Souttar and Robin Propper showed that they can be a solid foundation for Rangers to build their defence on, but Lyon will offer a significantly sterner task.
With Butland at the base and Souttar and Propper in front of him, there is a lot of experience at the heart of the team.
Speaking ahead of the Europa League league phase tie with Lyon, Butland knows the importance of a good defence:
"The clean sheets are important for us and we want to keep that going – it gives us a platform to play. We try and pride ourselves on that and we need to continue it.
"John Souttar and Robin Propper have been brilliant – they have stepped up into their positions but I still think there is more to come from them. I love having them in front of me and I think that partnership is developing well.
"John Souttar is an important part of the leadership group and he is leading with his performances at the minute – he is a great defender and we are lucky to have him."
Rangers rebuild starts from the back
Butland is right, the pairing of Souttar and Propper is starting to look good.
There is still some work to be done in possession, but they have shown that they can defend big spaces domestically and absorb pressure in Europe.
Souttar has a case to be Rangers best player this season.
The Scotland international is more consistent and has rarely put a foot wrong.
That he is now playing on his favoured right-hand side has also been a key factor in terms of his reading of the game and building out from the back.
Clement praised Butland's penalty save against Hibs, however, in the same breath, he also commented on how little the Gers keeper has had to do recently thanks to the duo in front of him doing their jobs so well.
Even against Malmo, the Light Blues number one was never at full stretch.
Rangers last title win was built on the defence, hopefully, the new pairing is the start of something good.
