Dressing room leader refuses to tow Gers party line and sees things differently than Clement
Today at 07:30 AM
Jack Butland didn't exactly parrot Philippe Clement's Rangers party line following the draw with Dundee United.
Gers fans have once again been left licking their wounds after a dismal first-half display laid the foundations for a 1-1 draw with the Arabs.
After Celtic ruthlessly dispatched Hearts 4-1 later in the day, Rangers find themselves 11 points behind in the Scottish Premiership.
The Gers also blew the chance to cut the gap between themselves and Aberdeen to six points following the Dons' 2-1 defeat to St Mirren.
Philippe Clement pointed to an improved second half performance as he frustratedly dodged questions on his future as Rangers manager.
But Jack Butland reckons that there's no 'positive' to be found in the second 45 after his teammates gave Rangers a mountain to climb in the first half.
Jack Butland dismisses Rangers second half
"It can't take until the second half to get going," Butland told RangersTV.
"The game is the way it is in the second half because they're holding on to something.
"We can't use that also as a positive that we were in the ascendency or anything like that.
"We've got to be better. We're giving away too many easy goals against teams that are just looking to hang on to something.
"We've not won. It's not ideal and it's not a great result at all and we should never be drawing that game. It feels like a loss.
"These games have got to be wins, they've got to be wins."
This is after Clement said: "The second half I've seen what I want to see of my team. How I want to see how we play football, how I want to see how we press, how we create chances, how we don't concede chances.
"Everything was there, only the second goal not to make and that's the frustrating after this evening. First half I was not satisfied. I didn't see enough braveness, enough movements and enough initiative of the team.
"So we need to show more of what we did in the second half and that's what we need to show more in the future."
Rangers goalkeeper says fans 'deserve' better
Whilst Rangers captain for the day Jack Butland was the man to front the cameras, the goalkeeper gave an insight into a dressing room in increasing dismay.
The Ibrox stopper himself hasn't quite reached the heights of the last campaign and has criticised the Rangers team for consistently putting themselves in 'difficult positions'.
The Rangers goalkeeper claims that the club has to do 'much more' and admits paying fans 'deserve' much better.
"It's not that we didn't take control," said Butland. "It's more just doing enough to take the game to them, to take the game away from.
"They're coming here to try and get a result. To try and be difficult, try and be awkward, which is what teams are going to bring when they come here.
"But it needs more from us. It needs more from us and then these things, these goals, don't happen because we're in the ascendency in the first half, playing with more intensity.
"We didn't to that in the first half and we've not done it in enough first halves this season and made our lives difficult.
"It's not for the want of trying, it's no for the reminders, we just have to do it.
"It's pointless speaking about it. You can speak till you're blue in the face about it. It's just got to be done. It's the standard.
"In the end you put yourself in difficult positions and at the minute we're doing that.
"I hate having these conversations. It's not what the fans deserve who have travelled, it's not what the ground staff and everyone else deserves who got the game and the pitch and the surrounding areas and the conditions in a state to play.
"It's not what the paying fans deserve from the game today so yeah, I didn't enjoy that, didn't enjoy the result and we need to do more, much more."
