Jack Butland hails Rangers captain James Tavernier for continuing to stand strong in the face of adversity
Ibrox keeper insists squad remain fully behind their skipper
Tavernier came in for severe criticism from fans after recent Old Firm defeat
Englishman starred in Thursday’s Europa League victory in Malmo
Shortly after the full-time whistle had blown in the Eleda Stadion on Thursday night, James Tavernier led the Rangers players over to the corner of the arena which housed their supporters.
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One by one, Tavernier and his team-mates applauded the fans and, in turn, took the acclaim from those who had made the journey over to Sweden.
A 2-0 victory away at Malmo in the Europa League was a result which few expected, a shot in the arm which breathes new life into Rangers’ season.
Those scenes at the end were also a far cry from what Tavernier was subjected to only a few weeks ago following the 3-0 hammering away at Celtic Park.
Video footage emerged of the Rangers captain being verbally abused by his own supporters soon after that crushing Old Firm defeat.
At that point, there was no guarantee that Tavernier would be sticking around to see another European campaign.
Jack Butland (centre) and James Tavernier (right) lead the celebrations after Malmo victory
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Jack Butland (centre) and James Tavernier (right) lead the celebrations after Malmo victory
New signing Nedim Bajrami opened the scoring in Sweden within the opening minute
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New signing Nedim Bajrami opened the scoring in Sweden within the opening minute
Ross McCausland doubled Rangers’ lead to seal the three points in their Europa League clash
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Ross McCausland doubled Rangers’ lead to seal the three points in their Europa League clash
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He became the subject of interest from several clubs in Turkey and, given the way that those same Rangers fans had vilified him, there was a feeling that his time at the club may be nearing an end.
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But the victory in Sweden on Thursday night felt like a turning point, not only in Rangers season, but also in Tavernier’s love-hate relationship with the Rangers supporters.
Since that defeat at Celtic Park four weeks ago, Rangers have reeled off three wins on the bounce and kept three clean sheets in succession.
Jack Butland probably couldn’t believe his luck in terms of how quiet a night he had against the Allsvenskan champions on Thursday, but the Rangers goalkeeper praised the resilience of Tavernier.
It wouldn’t be overstating things to suggest that this has been the most testing period in Tavernier’s Rangers career, but Butland insists the squad remain fully behind their skipper.
‘He never hides,’ said the English keeper. ‘He is someone that always stands up. As a captain of a football club like this, it’s not an easy thing to do.
‘What he’s done year on year, game on game, he’s come back through thick and thin, through really difficult moments.
Butland is in no doubt that Tavernier is still the man to wear the captain’s armband at Ibrox
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Butland is in no doubt that Tavernier is still the man to wear the captain’s armband at Ibrox
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‘We’ve seen and witnessed some of the things that he’s been subjected to. That’s part and parcel of being captain of this football club. But to come back and to keep doing what he does, to keep performing for us, to put the team on his shoulders with the penalties, with his play in general and what he does around the team…
‘I can only imagine what he has to deal with on a daily basis, but what he does is perform. He keeps coming back and he keeps helping us and he keeps leading us.
‘He inspires us all because for him, he lives it and he’s lived it for a long time. But it has to be like water off a duck’s back.
‘When you have those defeats, the worst thing you can do is follow it up with another defeat. What you have to do is you have to dust yourself down, you’ve got to go again.
‘That’s what this football club is all about and that’s what Tav does.
‘So for us to see that, for him to continue to be a smiley face in the changing room, continuing to set standards and continuing to push, if he was to go the other way with us, it then becomes very difficult for everybody else.
‘Tav is a very unflappable character. You see very little change in him day to day. He knows what he’s got to do, he knows the responsibility of wearing the badge, wearing the armband.
Tavernier was targeted by some Rangers fans following this month’s 3-0 defeat to Celtic
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Tavernier was targeted by some Rangers fans following this month’s 3-0 defeat to Celtic
‘If he was to come in and have days moping around, it would bring everyone else down. So that’s a testament to him.
‘We’ve got to continue to support him. He’s still going to have massive moments at this football club. We’ve got huge ambitions for this season and he’s always a huge part of that.’
The question of whether or not Tavernier should be the captain of Rangers is something which has hung over him almost from the moment he took the armband in 2018.
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Under contract until the summer of 2026, and having joined the club initially in 2015, he could eventually have given a decade of service to Rangers.
In terms of his captaincy style, Butland would argue that there is more than one way to skin a cat. The days when captains had to be uber-aggressive alpha males are a thing of the past.
On Tavernier’s credentials as captain, the Rangers keeper continued: ‘There are different ways of leading and he has his way.
‘Everyone, even between us here, we’re all different characters, we’ve all got different strengths. We’ve all got different ways of showing people what we’re about or leading.
‘Some are more vocal, some like to put in knee-high challenges that you can’t do anymore. But the game has changed and people have changed.
‘There are different characters in it, there are 25 different characters that make up a changing room. What’s important is you get the best out of yourself and you get the best out of everybody else.
The Englishman scored from the spot on his last domestic appearance against Dundee
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The Englishman scored from the spot on his last domestic appearance against Dundee
‘It would be wrong for Tav to try and be someone he’s not and lose what he’s capable of doing or what he can do. As a captain, you’ve got to be true to yourself, you’ve got to lead in the way that you feel you can. He certainly does that.’
The victory in Malmo on Thursday night was far more comfortable than the 2-0 scoreline suggests. Truth be told, Rangers ought to have won by three or four.
Philippe Clement’s side were guilty of missing some gilt-edged chances, albeit the manager acknowledged the performance as their best of the season so far.
Rangers will now turn their attention to a Premiership clash with Hibs at Ibrox tomorrow lunchtime, looking to reignite their domestic campaign after such a positive result in Europe.
‘I thought it was one of the best performances we’ve put collectively together for a long time,’ said Butland. ‘I think it’s been coming, we’ve been building and working on a lot of things.
‘Again, it’s a team that overloads and they have lots of rotations and try and make things difficult in 1v1 and things like that. The stats will show it, the boys limited Malmo to very few entries into the final third, let alone shots on goal.
‘It was a joy to watch, I thought the boys were brilliant.
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‘Look, we don’t want to wax lyrical about it. We can say how well we’ve done against Malmo, which we have done and we deserve that. But we all know what this club’s all about — we’ve then got to follow it up on Sunday against Hibs. It’s important we keep building and keep pushing.’
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