In a tense pre-match press conference ahead of Rangers' crucial Europa League quarter-final first leg against Athletic Club, interim manager Barry Ferguson refused to be drawn on whether under-fire goalkeeper Jack Butland will retain his starting position for Thursday night's encounter at Ibrox.
Butland, who joined Rangers from Crystal Palace during the summer of 2023, has come under increasing scrutiny following a string of costly errors, including a disappointing performance in last weekend's 2-0 home defeat to Hibernian.
The former England international's recent form has raised questions about whether deputy Liam Kelly might be called upon for the high-stakes European fixture.
When pressed on Butland's status and whether he had spoken with the goalkeeper about his recent performances, a clearly irritated Ferguson was unwilling to show his hand.
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"I'm not going to say whether I've had a conversation with Jack or any other player. You'll just need to find out," Ferguson stated firmly.
"Listen, I'm not going to sit here and tell you this is who I'm going to play and this is the formation we are going to play - I'd be crazy to do that. We will just need to see the decisions that are going to be made for tomorrow night."
The interim boss acknowledged that players experiencing dips in form is part of football but insisted his selection would be based solely on what gives Rangers the best chance of a positive result.
"What I will do is, I will make a decision based on what I think is right for us to get a positive result," Ferguson continued.
"Players make mistakes and players maybe underperforming is part and parcel of football. It's tough at times. I've been through many of them stages myself, and there are a few players maybe not playing at the level that they would want and what I would expect. But in terms of changes, I'm not going to sit here and tell you what's going to happen."
Should Ferguson opt to make a change between the posts, he has an experienced deputy in Kelly.
The 29-year-old goalkeeper has significant Scottish Premiership experience from his time at Motherwell and has already deputised for Butland earlier this season when the first-choice keeper was sidelined in January.
"I’m having to think about the full team," Ferguson said as he raised his voice before wrapping up the discussion. "I said that on Saturday when I came up and did my presser. I was angry, I was frustrated. It was a mixture of emotions.
"I thought I had erased some of that out of our game, but it was clear as day there were some issues that we had to sort. And, hopefully, the positive week we’ve had, the positive three days we’ve had together, we’ll see that difference tomorrow night."
