‘Playing for this incredible club is my priority’
Butland making up for lost time with Rangers
FOR Jack Butland, a decision to move to Rangers came with an element of risk. Players with ambitions of playing for England usually find that Scotland is out of sight, out of mind.
The last man to pull a Three Lions shirt over his head while playing at Ibrox was Paul Gascoigne.
Fraser Forster had to singlehandedly defy Lionel Messi and Barcelona to earn a call-up for a friendly against Chile in November 2013. The rest of his six caps came when he left Celtic to play in the English Premier League with Southampton.
When Nottingham Forest came calling in January, then, Butland had to ask himself a question. Might this be his last chance to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024?
‘My agent notified me of what was coming in,’ he admits. ‘He had heard that.
‘The club immediately said: “No”. He said, “How do you feel about that?”. It was a “no” from me as well. It didn’t change anything from my side of things.
‘Being honest with you, when I signed here, the Euros was not on my mind.
‘Playing football was all I was thinking about, playing football for an incredible club like this.
‘And, ultimately, I just miss playing football. I wanted to perform again and I wanted to show people what I could do. This game is what I love doing.
‘I wanted to play as it is not something I have had the chance to do over the last few years. I guess I am making up for lost time. The England thing, despite being something I have always wanted to do, wasn’t a target of mine.
‘It wasn’t a case of “I need to go to Rangers to get back in”. I just wanted to go to Rangers to enjoy what it is and enjoy being a part of it and to play football.’
Between January 2021 and the summer of 2023, the 31-year-old made just 17 appearances for Crystal Palace. Last season, he joined Manchester United as back-up and didn’t play at all.
Moving to Glasgow, the priority was simply to play football again. England was a bonus.
‘Last year at United was a good test for me to go and test myself against players like that, with staff like that, with the size of the club that it was,’ he states.
‘How I trained there, how I performed there and how good I felt in myself meant it was something I knew I was capable of doing.
‘It was about an opportunity really. And when Rangers came up, it was an easy decision to make.
‘I sort of made that decision before the season ended last year, that this was something I wanted to come and get stuck into.
‘So, for me, it was a no-brainer. Gradually, as the days went by, coming up here for the first time, getting things signed off, the support that I immediately got and what’s followed since, it’s just continually grown and become more and more the right decision.
‘It’s had its ups and downs but, on the whole, it’s been really enjoyable for me personally.
‘As a team, we’ve grown an awful lot, we’ve been through an awful lot and, on the whole, we’re in a place where we can compete for everything still. It’s been a really positive season and hopefully that continues.’
While Butland earned praise from Southgate after the Nations League draw in Paris, it failed to earn him his first England recognition in four years.
Aaron Ramsdale barely plays for Arsenal. Sam Johnstone and Dean Henderson’s Crystal Palace are in the bottom half of the table. And still the call never comes.
Before England’s March friendly with Brazil, Sky Sports predicted a call-up for the Rangers keeper when Johnstone dropped out of the squad. Another punch in the guts came when Southgate called up Burnley’s James Trafford instead.
Southgate’s trip to Ibrox for the recent 3-3 draw with Celtic resurrected hopes of a late reprieve. Wisely, Butland would rather not get his hopes up. ‘I didn’t even know he was coming,’ he admits. ‘It was a really positive thing that he came. He made the decision to come. He’s not been up here a lot but that says a lot.
‘Hopefully, he comes up a lot more, especially for games like that. They are incredible games to watch and to be a part of. ‘But I can only focus on what I’m doing. I’m enjoying every challenge that comes and just relishing that. ‘Anything that comes with that England wise, is a bonus. It was something I’ve always loved being a part of and want to be a part of. But that’s not a question for me. I have no idea what that holds.’
There is no sign of a player itching to return to England as fast as his feet will carry him. Instead he speaks of cementing his place as a fans’ goalkeeping favourite in the same mould as the late Andy Goram, Allan McGregor or Stefan Klos.
‘It is all part of the history of this club, great goalkeepers. Some people might see that as pressure. I saw this whole thing as an opportunity to play and just show people what I believe I can do. I guess it puts you in that conversation if you do that.
‘What those guys have gone before have all done is won, they have been serial winners, they have continually done so. I have one to my name. That is not enough.
‘You get a taste for it and you want more and that is what this club wants. It demands more. To be mentioned, as some people have done, is an honour, but you have got to back that up with trophies and hopefully we can do that.’
He had a taste of how it feels to win with Rangers with the Viaplay Cup triumph over Aberdeen in December. Vying with Celtic for the league and Scottish Cup, there could be more to come yet.
‘It is sort of scary in a way. That was some good fun that we had. It was an incredible day, an incredible few days after,’ he says.
‘I can only imagine what it would be like if we could go another one or two steps further with what is to come.’