JACK BUTLAND spoke of his pride last night after captaining Rangers to a Europa League point in Greece.
And the keeper insists their performance against Olympiacos has to set the standard for Philippe Clement‘s men moving forward.
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Butland was handed the armband after James Tavernier was benched in Athens.
He said: “It’s an honour to represent the club in Tav’s absence, but he’s the captain.
“I was in Tav’s absence, but honoured to lead the team out and proud of the performance.
“Cyriel Dessers scored a big goal for us, which he has done on many occasions.
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“We play so many games, we put him in and he works hard and doesn’t always get the credit he deserves.
“But it was a team performance and I was proud to lead the boys out. I think they earned their stripes.
“There are games I will be busier in, but I am as proud of that performance as any.
“It’s brilliant to see the boys play like that and we know that’s what we’re capable of.
“We really need to replicate that more often because we know we can do it.
“It’s a good result at a difficult place away from home.
“The boys were incredible, the fans were incredible and we can take a lot of confidence from that.
“We got punished for one moment and we didn’t deserve to be behind. It was about keeping the boys’ heads up and the confidence high.
“I just tried to reassure them, tell them to keep going and not to give up.
“We don’t do that and we have shown it on many occasions.”
Dessers missed two clear chances before levelling for Rangers with a stunning second-half finish.
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The Nigerian cap showed a cool head to find the corner and insists he was never going to lose faith.
He said: “In those moments, it’s like you are in a car on a highway going really fast. Everything was going fast, but I had a nice chop, I let the defender slide and I found the corner.
“Have I been worried about scoring in this competition? No, not really. I know this is the life of a striker. You will miss some chances and you will score some.
“Even when you miss the first two, you have to keep going and hope you finish the third one and that was the case.
“It was a good feeling to get to a final at the weekend and we were confident for this game.
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“We knew what we had to do and we executed the plan well.
“It was a big team performance, with us all together. We had to fight to the end.
“Olympiacos are a very good team, so we can be very proud.”
Rangers are sitting on seven points after four games, with tough tests to come.
Nice are next up at the end of this month before Tottenham visit Ibrox.
Gers head south to take on Manchester United in the New Year and also face Belgian side Union SG.
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Dessers added: “We have had a good start in the Europa League and we can go into the next games with a good feeling now.
“We have big opponents coming up and have nothing to lose.”
Meanwhile, ex-Gers winger Neil McCann says Clement’s decision to play two full-backs ahead of Tavernier spoke volumes.
Dujon Sterling was replaced by Neraysho Kasanwirjo in the second half, with the skipper restricted to just eight minutes on the right wing.
McCann said: “That was a big decision and what does that say?
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“Does it say that he trusts Kasanwirjo more than James Tavernier as an out-and-out defender? It probably does to me.
“What does that do to the captain when Sterling takes his place and goes off and it’s not him who comes on?”
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