Jack Butland has sent a defiant message to Rangers' doubters.
The experienced goalkeeper has taken aim at those who have a 'habit' of writing the Ibrox club off when the chips are down.
The former Crystal Palace and Manchester United keeper insists he and his teammates are still very much in the title hunt, with Celtic four points clear as things stand.
Rangers play their game in hand against Dundee at Dens Park tomorrow night, with a victory there taking Philippe Clement's side back to within a single point of their arch-Glasgow rivals.
And Butland has a simple message for critics of Rangers - write us off at your peril.
"People have had a habit of writing Rangers off for a long time," the 31-year-old said. "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 by everybody else's words, everyone else is saying title race, so that's a credit to what they boys have done - what we need to remember we've done.
"It would be easy after the game at the weekend to sit and think that everything has gone out of the window because it hasn't. It's a game that we need to learn from and it's a performance that we can't allow to happen again. There is nobody in the building that is concerned about that, we know it wasn't good enough.
"It's a reminder to everyone what the standards are of what is required here.
"But people have written us off before, not just in this season but I'm sure in many seasons gone by and other opportunities. It's up to us and what we do now until the end of the season."
READ MORE: Rangers injury update as two out and Balogun bug revealed
He added: "No matter where you are in the building at Ibrox, there's history, there's stories, great quotes from previous managers and senior members of the club on what this club is all about.
"You don't get the numbers we've got up on the wall here without having to come from behind, without being out in front and being chased from behind.
"It's a club of immense history and success, and it's not always easy. So, that's the message. Did we expect it to be easy? Did we think we'd be in this position earlier on in the season when we were eight points adrift? Not sure, but we believed and we pushed, and we are where we are.
"It's almost like the start of a new season now. Starting tomorrow night, with a good result and with three points. Then we push on and we finish with five strong games."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel