JACK BUTLAND says Rangers have to embrace the opportunity ahead of their crucial league fixture against Hearts tomorrow.
The Gers currently sit five points behind the leaders, but with the chance to close the gap to just two when the Edinburgh club visit Ibrox in an eagerly anticipated clash.
Speaking to the media ahead of the team’s next Scottish Premiership outing, he said: “Frustrations? Of course, we understand what the season started like, and everything is irrelevant now, because we are now in a position where things can be really good.
“The expectations have changed; the energy has changed, and now we are in a positive place again.
“When you get there, the expectations that you just kick on and just keep flying, it is not as easy as that, but we are in a great position.
“There is going to be plenty of twists and turns, but everything is still very much in our hands, and whoever wants to grab that and grasp it will have the best opportunity to win it in the end.
“For us, we certainly have that opportunity still and a great opportunity at home in front of all of our fans on the weekend to really keep that going.
“There are 12 games to go; the focus is on winning the game. That is what we are setting out to do in every game.
“If we do that, we know what it means, but it doesn't mean that there is any given that you are going to automatically be successful from there, we are going to need to go and win the next game.
“There is a long way to go still, it is hugely important. We are focused on trying to win every game, but one step at a time, and that starts on Sunday.”
The goalkeeper says the team have to overcome the tests that they will face along the way, as they seek a return to winning ways following their late setback in the draw at Motherwell in midweek.
He continued: “I think that is the test for anyone who ultimately wants to win the league, which is how you stand up to the challenges.
“For us, our challenges are what they are, and for the others, there's are different. If you want to win this league, you're going to have to stand up to these challenges, something that we very much have to do this weekend.
“We still won't be top if we win at the weekend, so yes, it puts pressure o,n but it still means that everything is very much down to us. We need to beat teams above us and around us; we need to beat everybody, and that is ultimately the focus.
“There are going to be twists and turns, it is not going to be as plain sailing is win them all and you're going to be fine. It is going to be difficult for everybody, but that is the challenge and one that we are ready for.
“That's the belief, you can argue since the manager came in, or certainly the last few months stats would suggest we have been one of the best sides in the league, if not the best in terms of our points to where we have come from.
“Especially what the opinion of us was four or five months ago, so we have done an incredible job to get ourselves to this point, but we don't rest on that, and we are not happy with that.
“We want to kick on, and we want to win the league. Sunday goes a long way to confirming those beliefs, and it is up to us make sure that we do that.”
The 32-year-old has spoken of the willingness in the group to push each other with the squad having been strengthened during the recent winter window, feeling it can only be good for the team to try strive for success.
He added: “Competition? It can only help; everyone is ultimately playing for what we are fighting for as a team.
“Individually, everybody wants to be a part of that; everybody wants to be the game that makes the defining actions, and it gives everyone an opportunity on the training pitch when it comes to sort of one game a week to push each other, and that can only be a good thing for the squad.
“When it comes down to the noise, it is to embrace it, to enjoy it.
“It is an incredible club to play for; a special club, and I am sure it is going to be a special atmosphere on Sunday.
“It is something to embrace; these are the games that you want to play in. Individually and as a team, these are the games that you want to be involved in.
“It is an exciting time for us, we certainly feel that way, but it is a really important game that we need to be ready for, and everybody needs to just embrace it, enjoy it and get the win.”
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