Pundit heaps praise on 'great' unsung Rangers hero staying grounded after Panathinaikos heroics

Peter Lovenkrands insists had it not been for some goalkeeping heroics from Jack Butland against Panathinaikos, Rangers could have headed to Athens next week in a far more precarious position than they find themselves in.

The former Ibrox striker reckons the Englishman - who came in for some stinging criticism from large sections of the fanbase last season for a string of error-strewn displays - kept his teammates in the Champions League qualifying tie during the first half at Ibrox last night.

Russell Martin’s side had to contend with an early Greek onslaught before eventually managing to take control and flex their muscles in the second half.

Goals from Findlay Curtis and Djeidi Gassama after the interval gave the Light Blues some much-needed breathing space ahead of travelling to the Greek capital for the second leg next Wednesday.

But Lovenkrands, who was on punditry duties for BBC Scotland, admits the focus should be on the masterclass between the sticks from Butland.

He admitted live on air: “Had it not been for Jack Butland, we’d be talking about a different game. He kept them in the game in the first half.

“He’s the man of the match for me and deserves the credit, he put Rangers in the position to go and do what they did. Today he delivered a top performance. He was great.”

Butland urges Rangers not to sit back on two-goal cushion in Athens

Reflecting on the game, Butland has urged his teammates to ‘have trust in what we’re trying to achieve’ as he confessed to making positive steps in the right direction.

He stated: “It was a very important one (performance), a lot made of what sort of performance, line up, how we were going to play etc, but we know the most important thing here is winning.

“That was the message before the game and hopefully we’ve shown the fans some things they can expect from us. To start with a win tonight was really important in the tie, and for our season, to get off to a good start this season.

“The good things, in a way, was that our mistakes led to it (their chances), so we could look at it and rectify it. We’ve put our trust in the system that and that’s going to take time but we learned from those mistakes.

“Thankfully you’re able to make some saves, and Soots (John Souttar) put in a big block which you need. So yeah, we’re building. We’re getting up to speed in terms of where we want to be, and a 2-0 win to start was huge.

“We need to put in a performance over there now, have trust in what we’re trying to achieve and believe that will be enough. The conditions will be tough and in front of their fans, but we need to remember we’re taking our fans as well, who will give us a huge amount of support.

“We’re looking forward to it, it’s a big challenge. But we go there to win the game now, not to hold on. That’s the plan.”