Barry Ferguson sends message to Jack Butland as Rangers exit wish emerges
Barry Ferguson has urged Jack Butland to end his time with Rangers on a high by helping the club deliver a historic treble.
Belgian news outlet DHNet reported in April that Butland wants to quit Ibrox and return to the Premier League after just one season in Glasgow.
Rangers have already lifted the Scottish League Cup this season and are still in contention for the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish FA Cup – and Ferguson has told the goalkeeper to focus on winning more silverware before he leaves.
Ferguson wrote in his column for the Daily Record (3 May): “What better way to go out than to leave with another two trophies and a couple of medals around your neck? If you have any sense of self-respect you can’t allow yourself to go out with a whimper.
“Don’t leave a place like this with regrets, leave it with memories. That has to be the mindset for the next three weeks or so.
“Seize this opportunity to go out on a high with two more trophies in the cabinet because this will be your last chance to win a clean sweep.”
Losing Jack Butland will be a blow for Rangers
The news that Butland is eyeing up a return to the Premier League after just one season at Ibrox is a blow indeed, given the 31-year-old just won the club’s Player of the Season award.
No player has featured more under Philippe Clement this season than the Englishman, who has racked up 4,770 minutes in 53 appearances across all competitions – the only game he did not feature in all season was the Scottish FA Cup fourth-round clash at Dumbarton.
Rangers are into the final of that competition now – they face Celtic at Hampden Park on 25 May – and Butland will most certainly start that game unless he is prevented from doing so by an unforeseen injury.
The Gers also have a chance of winning the Scottish Premiership trophy – they sit second in the table, three points behind leaders Celtic but with an Old Firm derby at Parkhead to come on 11 May. However, the Bhoys’ goal difference is superior, meaning Rangers will either need to sufficiently outscore their rivals during the run-in or hope they slip up and take advantage.
If Butland must depart Ibrox so soon, it will be far more palatable to Gers supporters if he does so after helping to deliver a domestic treble.
In other Rangers news, a regular Clement starter is now going to sign a deal to leave the club.
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