Jack Butland reveals his Rangers reset and how he spent summer reminding himself of key message lost to 'overthinking'

Daily Record

28-07-2025

After a turbulent season the Rangers keeper started this campaign off in top form against Panathinaikos
Jack Butland has lifted the lid on his Rangers reset - and how he had to remind himself over the summer that he's a top goalkeeper.
‌
The Ibrox number one got the new campaign off to a flier with three crucial saves in Tuesday's Champions League qualifying win over Panathinaikos to put Gers in the driving seat ahead of Wednesday's second leg.
‌
It was an impressive return to form after a turbulent campaign that saw the former England international dropped following a series of high profile errors.
‌
Question marks hung over the 32-year-old's position under new boss Russell Martin.
But he produced the answers in a man of the match display that has kept Rangers' £40million Champions League dream on course.
And Butland said: 'I feel really refreshed, feel good, feel really positive about the season ahead.
'I had a really good summer, a lot of time to think about stuff, work on stuff, just to remind myself that I'm a good goalkeeper.
'I believe that I'm a top goalkeeper. Sometimes you can forget that when things get tough and you start to overthink.
'But I'm feeling in a great place, really looking forward to the season. I was really happy to be able to help on Tuesday night.'
‌
Rangers might have a two goal lead heading to Greece but Butland has warned the tie is far from over.
The former Manchester United, Stoke and Birmingham keeper expects a red hot atmosphere in the Athens Olympic Stadium with overhead temperatures to match.
And he is prepared for an onslaught from Rui Vitoria's side as they look to claw themselves back into the tie and keep the £40m Champions League dream alive.
‌
He said: 'Yeah, they will and they need to. Like I said, 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 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. Of course, as we do, we travel over there, we take our fans with us and we try and make a difference.'
Despite his turbulent season, Butland played a big role in Rangers' march to the quarter final of the Europa League last season with huge displays home and away against Fenerbahce.
‌
He knows what it takes to get results in hostile environments away from home. And he said: 'A lot of tactics go out the window.
"You've got to play the game, you've got to use your experience, you've got to manage the game, you've got to take the sting out of it, you've got to know when to get the ball back and play quick and when to kill the game and play it smart.
'All of that's going to come into it because this is not a league format, this is a knockout.
'We know what this week means and what we need to do and it will be really important that we get a result there and get through this time.'