Jack Butland says "there is no bigger occasion" as Rangers prepare for a huge showdown with Aberdeen on Wednesday night when they will aim to reduce the six-point gap to the top of the Scottish Premiership table.

Philippe Clement's side cannot afford to slip any further behind Celtic and Aberdeen who sit joint-top on 25 points, with the Hoops edging ahead on goal difference.

The Dons have dropped just two points in the league so far after their stalemate with Celtic and the Gers will look to knock Jimmy Thelin's side off their stride at Pittodrie.

Ahead of Wednesday night's crunch clash, Rangers keeper Jack Butland discussed the fierce rivalry between the sides and how the Gers will "need to fight" to get a result. He told Sky Sports: "It's huge.

"Every game is huge. But there's plenty on this. There has been for a while.

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"And there's no bigger occasion than [tonight] for us to come away with those really important three points.

"I've known people from both sides of this rivalry. They're not shy to let you know how things are and I'm looking forward to it."

"The expectation of winning every game is always there," he added. "But there's always some that carry a little bit more weight. And that's something you can't get away from. It's something as a player and as a team we need to embrace.

He went on: "We need to enjoy the experience and step up to it, step up to the challenge. There’s maybe a school of thought that you can't afford to fall any further behind.

"It's a game that we are going fully intent to win," he added. "And that's the full focus of everybody going into [the game].

"But we've got to fight. We've got to show the passion and we've got to show the energy that's required to win this match."