Defiant Butland makes Rangers 'written off' title claim

Jack Butland has been speaking ahead of Wednesday's trip to Dens Park to face Dundee.

Here is everything he had to say.

How are the players feeling about this game, good to get a game so quickly after Sunday?

Yeah, always. You're always going to go through a season and have some ups and downs. Having a game so quickly after that is always a positive thing just to get back on track and put the last game behind us.

What's the debrief been like?

As you expect. We debrief after every game, good or bad. We take things from it that we need to so we went through the same process as we do after every game. We go through what we did well and what we did badly. Unfortunately, we didn't do too many things well on the weekend so for everybody it's been a good wake-up call. A good reset if you like and we have to use the disappointment from the weekend to kick on for the last six games of the league.

Where does the result leave the title battle?

It leaves us where it leaves us, you can see that. We've got a game tomorrow night to go and win. If we do, we're one point behind with five to go so the maths are what they are. We have to pick up more points between then and the end of the season and whoever does that will ultimately win the league. We'll take one game at a time and that starts at Dens Park tomorrow night.

Do Celtic have the advantage?

We've done extremely well to get back to where we are. We've come from behind, we were way adrift. One point, if we win the game tomorrow, is not something that's unachievable or unattainable. It's not something that can't be done and hasn't been done before. It's not something that we are worried about. We know what we've got to do wherever the games are played. Obviously, there's been some issues with this one tomorrow night but that's going to go ahead where it should go ahead and ultimately we take it in our stride after that and see where we get but we've got to win every game and that's what we'll be looking to do.

People have written you off after Sunday, do you need to make sure it's just a blip?

People have had a habit of writing Rangers off for a long time. People wrote us off at the start of the season, they wrote us off before the manager came in and didn't give us much hope. Not by our words but everybody else's words, everyone else is saying title race and that's what is us. That's a credit to what the boys have done and what we need to remember that we've done as well. It'll be easy after the game on the weekend to sit there and think everything has gone out the window, it hasn't. It's a game we need to learn from, it's a performance that we can't allow to happen again. There's nobody in the building that is concerned about that. We know it wasn't good enough and it's a reminder to everybody of the standards and what's required here but people have written us off before not just this season but I'm sure many seasons gone by. But it's up to us ultimately, nobody else and what we do now until the end of the season.

Can you use that as motivation?

I think so. You see it no matter where you are in the building and at Ibrox. There's history, there's stories, great quotes from previous managers and senior members of the club of what this club's all about. You don't get the numbers up on the wall that we've got here without having to come from behind, without being out in front and being chased down. It's a club of immense history and success and it's not always easy. That's the message, do we expect it to be easy, did we think we'd be in this position earlier on in the year when we were eight points adrift? Not sure but we believed and we pushed and we are where we are. It's almost at the start of a new season now, starting tomorrow night with a good result, with three points and then we push on and we finish with five strong games.

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Have you and the team been able to put your finger on the goals you're conceding recently?

I think the Old Firm game last weekend you see the freak goal that happened and things like that happen when you get to the business end at times. It would be easy to think that things have changed. Ultimately, you're playing against the other top side in the league last weekend. The performance we've spoken about wasn't acceptable on the weekend and it was basics which have cost us in those moments. It's not something that we're concerned about, it's something that we've looked at. We've gone over and reminded ourselves what we've prided ourselves on and what has got us into this position that we are now. That's been hard work on and off the ball, it's been pressing, it's been working together as a unit which has got us to where we are. There's no doubt that we can recreate that and we must do that tomorrow.

How do you look ahead to finally facing Dundee?

It's been an eventful one. It'll be the fourth attempt to play them up there. Although it's a lovely part of the world and it's nice to go up to the Old Course and all that, it's about getting the results. We should've only been up there twice but this will be the fourth time. That is what it is and the powers that be will deal with that from here on out but we need to focus on what we've got to do and that's putting in a proper Rangers performance and getting the result tomorrow.

How important is it the squad doesn't panic after the weekend?

It's only a blow if you allow it to affect what happens next. So I guess the message from me and what we spoke about as a squad is we don't let that carry on. We don't let that seep into it and we bounce back with a win. From a fans perspective, I get that they'll be disappointed and rightly so because the performance was below par but like you guys have said, there's a title race going on. Let's not forget that, let's not forget what we need to do as a club and as a team to get over the line. I've got no doubts that the fans are going to continue to turn up and support us as they've done throughout the whole campaign anyway but we need to reward them with a top performance tomorrow night. That should restore some confidence in the group.

Have the last couple of days been a chance for the leaders in the group to send a message to the squad?

You've got to use it as a stimulus and a motivation what happened on the weekend. You've got to use it as a marker to go again but the last couple of days it's been, 'Okay, let's look at it, let's debrief what we thought we could've done better, what we should have done better,' but remind us of what we've got in the group. The great moments that we've shown, the great performances we've put in over a long period of time to get us back here and we can't lose sight of that and it would be silly to do so. For me, I've got great belief in the group. It's something I've reflected and I'll always be positive and push the boys to a higher standard as well as the other leaders are doing. It's a great place to be, it's a great opportunity for us. We can use that disappointment on the weekend as an opportunity and that's how we've got to see it.

Has Gareth Southgate spoken to you about an England recall?

No.

Do you still hold out hope of a recall?

Yeah, of course, but as I've said all along that comes with performances for Rangers. The fact that he came up to watch is fantastic. It's important for me and any other English player that it's a window, it's an opening so there is that potential there. All I can do from here on out is focus on my performances which is all that matters to me at the minute. It's what we do here and what we do with this club and if that comes then I'll be delighted.