Jack Butland is confident Rangers can produce new year fireworks as Philippe Clement hunts down a first Old Firm victory over Celtic.
The Ibrox goalkeeper was hurting after seeing the maiden silverware of the season head to Parkhead in Sunday’s thrilling League Cup Final that went all the way to spot kicks. But he believes Rangers are good enough to be beating their arch rivals when they lock horns in Govan on January 2 – and proved it by matching them step for step across 120 minutes at Hampden on Sunday.
It was a far cry from the meek display as Clement – still seeking a first derby win after six attempts – and his side were swept aside 3-0 in the first Old Firm of the season at Celtic Park three months ago. The new regime of chairman Fraser Thornton and CEO Patrick Stewart began their work at Ibrox on Monday in the wake of the cup final showdown. And Butland hopes their first taste of a derby in office will be a successful one.
Before then Clement’s side must take care of Dundee at Ibrox this weekend and away trips to St Mirren and Motherwell. But, asked if the Hampden performance gives them confidence going into the new year showdown, he said: “Absolutely, I think that can be seen from afar.
“We certainly believe it in the group, that we’re not only trending in the right direction, but we believe that we should be winning these games and performances are starting to reflect that. So, yes, the second of January is humongous. We’ve got three games between now and then that we need to win. But the reality is it’s a huge one, we’ll be looking forward to it. Days down the line, we’ll look at Sunday’s performance and be proud of it.”
Butland is convinced Rangers deserved more from their last two outings as they drew with Premier League giants Spurs in the Europa League on Thursday before Sunday’s cup final barnstormer. Whether their short turnaround cost them as the legs went in extra time remains up for debate.
But the former England keeper said: “We had the time that we had so it’s impossible to measure whether things were any different with more time. But the fact is, we had what we had and the boys were brilliant with that.
“They stuck together, put in a real team performance, worked hard for each other and played as a team. So, it’s just about really commending the boys for being able to do that. But we deserved more and it certainly hurts.”