There’s a bit in the press about Paul Parker’s comments on Jack Butland, and it’s not the first time the seemingly Rangers-hating ex-England international has been in the news for some apparent digs at our club, but the reality here is that he’s not completely wrong in what he said.

It’s just that the headlines and interpretation has been used anti-Rangers to get clicks and traffic with zero interest in the truth.

To be clear, Paul Parker is NOT slating Jack Butland for having no ambition by moving to Rangers – he WAS slating him for being yet another goalie content to sit on the Premier League bench and not want better for himself. It’s dreadful journalism to package his comments the way the press are.

Now, Parker is actually being a little unfair there – Butland was benched by Manchester United, and he only went there because he’s a boyhood fan who wanted to be able to say he’d been a Manchester United player. He knew he probably wouldn’t play much if at all – he just wanted the once-in-a-lifetime experience.

He didn’t sit on the bench with a lack of ambition, he sat there for emotional reasons, to be a Man Utd player for probably the only time he’d ever get to wear the shirt of his boyhood club.

If we look closer at Parker’s comments, they take a dig at Scottish football, and we couldn’t agree more with that. He said if the lad doesn’t succeed in Scottish football with Rangers, he might as well give up.

Admittedly we don’t recall him saying this about Joe Hart and Celtic, but Parker does have history of being emotionally negative about Rangers – but he’s also not completely wrong. Butland is STRONGLY expected to succeed with Rangers, and if he doesn’t, well, what would indeed be his next move?

Parker also mentions it’s a good move, a tough move, and he wants it to work out for Butland – but he has concerns the stopper has been a bit of out action for too long and wonders how he’ll cope with the ferocity of Scottish football and specifically the Celtic matches. And we can accept that point. But cream does always rise to the top. Look at Cantwell and Raskin.

So… it’s not quite the garbage headlines the gutter press are putting out, and some of it is backhanded, but Paul Parker, while not Rangers’ biggest fan, is being more honest and fair than many outlets are claiming he is.

But we are still very excited about Jack Butland!