Allan McGregor talk silenced by Jack Butland as John Hartson lauds Rangers recruitment
Rangers’ recruitment has impressed former Celtic striker John Hartson as he lauded Jack Butland as “excellent” and “exceptional” since his summer arrival.
Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show on 13 February the pundit suggested that the lack of talk about predecessor Allan McGregor was a measure of how important the former (and potential future) England international has been.
The 30-year-old arrived on a free transfer from Crystal Palace as arguably the crowning achievement of the Michael Beale summer overhaul, with the Gers rejecting a “megabucks” Nottingham Forest bid last month [Scottish Sun, 30 January].
Harton said (5m 10s): “Excellent, good recruitment bringing Butland in. Jack Butland is a quality goalkeeper and any successful team, you look through the years, the most successful teams have a really good goalkeeper making big saves at crucial times of the game to keep you in it, knowing you can go forward and get the winning goal.
“When it’s 1-0 and it’s pretty tight you know you can rely on your goalkeeper to make a good save. And Butland, certainly, he’s done exceptionally well.
“We talk about Allan McGregor as the previous goalkeeper for Rangers but no-one seems to be talking about Allan, as much of a good player that he was, a good goalkeeper.
“But with Jack’s performances he’s getting all the plaudits that he deserves. He’s been excellent.”
Exceptional Butland overcomes McGregor exit at Rangers
The recruitment has been a sore point at Ibrox for a while after successive managers were sacked within a few months of summer transfer windows as Beale went the same way of Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
While the likes of Ridvan Yilmaz and potentially even Cyriel Dessers have shown of late that it might just take time, albeit time Rangers don’t necessarily have, to come good Butland was an immediate hit.
The club could have made a major profit immediately if they had sold him in the winter window, and with Robby McCrorie arguably a reasonable alternative it shows how highly the club think of the Englishman that they turned down Forest out of hand.
McGregor’s place in Rangers history is secure but it is no bad thing that his absence has somewhat been overlooked this season.
And if Butland can get back into the England squad via success in Scotland then it would be one less reason for him to be moved to leave any time soon.
In other Rangers news, a pundit has claimed live from Ibrox that a Light Blues starter is on the way as he said “the writing’s on the wall”.
For more Rangers news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.