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Rangers star claims Ibrox Burger King reaps what he sows

Published

7 months ago

March 1, 2024

Jack Butland has thrown his support behind James Tavernier amid public criticism of his credentials as Rangers captain.

The flying right-back, 31, has been with the Ibrox side since 2015 and grown alongside the club over his some nine years in Glasgow.

Made captain by Steven Gerrard in 2018, since then James Tavernier has grown in stature and responsibility at Rangers and is a key player at both ends of the park.

Despite this, there had been criticism from a leading Scottish journalist that the Rangers skipper didn’t have the “aura” to command the position of Ibrox captain.

The conversations surrounds an alleged visit to burger chain Five Guys after the 3-0 win away to St Johnstone.

Philippe Clement has since dismissed the claims as “silly stories”.

Jack Butland hails James Tavernier

Speaking after James Tavernier hauled Rangers back level with a world-class free-kick away to Kilmarnock, it’s not a sentiment Jack Butland agrees with.

The Rangers goalkeeper branded the skipper a “leader” and praised his relentless commitment to the Ibrox cause.

“That’s what Tav does,” Jack Butland told RangersTV. “It’s not easy for someone to step up and take pens like he does and score goals like he does.

“Especially the free kicks as well; it’s something that he works on religiously every day.

“So when you’re a leader like he is, when you play the way he does, and when you practice the way he does, those opportunities go in and he earns them. He’s come up with another vital goal for us today.”

Rangers captain an Ibrox legend

James Tavernier has been a revelation ever since signing for Rangers in 2015 and has gone on to cement himself in Ibrox history.

Now the club’s leading defensive goalscorer – the strike v Killie was his 121st in a Gers jersey – his contribution in recent seasons has been immense.

But this season in particular – where Tavernier has breached the 20 goal mark for the first time – Rangers fans are seeing a more experienced, determined, and composed Tav than ever.

Motherwell FC v Rangers FC - Cinch Scottish Premiership

The goalkeeper is also a part of the club’s leadership team and we’d urge fans to take Butland’s comments more seriously than just about anyone else’s.

It says a lot about the esteem in which Owen Beck is held that his role in Dundee’s 7-1 dismantling by Celtic on Wednesday night has largely been dismissed as ‘just one of those things’.

A necessary – if harsh – learning curve for a full-back who the subject of a January offer from Ibrox and is likely to come into the thinking again at Rangers when Borna Barisic’s contract expires at the end of the current campaign.

Owen Beck was torn limb from limb by Celtic – flying winger Yang Hyun-Jun in particularly enthralling form as Brendan Rodgers’ stuttering side blew away the cobwebs with a six-goal first-half – but the 21-year-old is certainly not the first young defender to endure a bit of a nightmare evening against high-class opposition.

Who knows, perhaps it will be to his benefit? A rather brutal lesson, yes, but one Dundee’s Liverpool loanee can adapt from, bouncing back better equipped and more experienced to deal with similar challenges in the future.

Lest we forget that it was only a few months ago that Ridvan Yilmaz – Beck’s fellow left-back – was viewed as something of a busted flush at Ibrox. His remarkable resurgence under Philippe Clement is proof that, under the right coach and in the right environment, a young player can make huge strides in barely a blink of an eye.

Owen Beck has admirers at Rangers

“We practice that in training and you know when people like Owen find space that, if you make that run, they will find you nine times out of ten,” Dundee team-mate Jordan McGhee said after he converted one of Beck’s four assists away to St Johnstone recently (Press and Journal).

“That is where Beck has been outstanding since he has come in (last summer, with his loan deal extended until June). All the boys have come in and been brilliant to a man.”

With his usually devilish delivery from the left-hand side earning comparisons with one Charlie Adam – the former Rangers and Liverpool playmaker renowned for his pinpoint set-pieces – Beck certainly appears to possess many of the creative attributes required from a modern-day full-back.

Borna Barisic replacement may be required

At Rangers, a team who tend to dominate possession against massed defensive ranks, their full-backs are a valuable creative outlet. See James Tavernier’s enduring importance, and the key role Barisic played in their 2021 Premiership triumph under Steven Gerrard.

But that Dundee debacle laid bare the defensive weaknesses which still – and perhaps unsurprisingly – remain in the youngster’s game. Weaknesses which must be ironed out if Owen Beck is to emerge as Yilmaz’s main competitor for the left-back berth at Rangers from 2024/25 onwards.