Some lead by their actions, others lead by their words. At a club where the shirt can weigh heavily on the shoulders, the armband carries an extra burden that only those of the prerequisite quality and character are able to carry.

James Tavernier’s status as a Rangers legend is a source of discussion that will never have a consensus amongst supporters. His status as a captain and a leader is not up for debate for Jack Butland.

Tavernier has experienced every high and low possible during his Ibrox career. He skippered Rangers to a 55th league flag and cup triumphs at Hampden and was on the brink of immortality in Seville. In contrast, he has endured agonising domestic failures and a plethora of Old Firm defeats. For some, the bad will always outweigh the good.

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Butland is not in that camp, though. Tavernier wore the armband as Philippe Clement’s side beat Malmo on Thursday evening to get another European campaign off and running. He retains the backing of his boss and those that he leads.

The response since the derby defeat to Celtic has been positive for Rangers. It has been imperative for a captain that was verbally abused during an incident outside Ibrox.

“He never hides,” Butland said. “He is something and someone that always stands up. But as a captain of a football club like this, it's not an easy thing to do. 

“What he's done year on year, game on game, has come back through thick and thin, through really difficult moments. We've seen and witnessed some of the things that he's been subject to.

“That's part and parcel of being captain of this football club, but to come back and to keep doing what he does, to keep performing for us, to put the team on his shoulders with the penalties, with his play in general and what he does around the team. 

“I can only imagine what he has to deal with on a daily basis, but what he does is perform. He keeps coming back and he keeps helping us and he keeps leading us. He inspires us all because for him, he lives it and he's lived it for a long time. But it has to be like water off a duck's back. 

“When you have those defeats, the worst thing you can do is follow it up with another defeat. What you have to do is you have to dust yourself down, you've got to go again. 

“That's what this football club is all about and that's what Tav does. So for us to see that, for him to continue to be a smiley face in the changing room, continuing to set standards and continuing to push, if he was to go the other way with us, it then becomes very difficult for everybody else.”

When Clement spoke in the aftermath of the Scottish Cup final loss to Celtic in May, he previewed the upcoming transfer window by labelling it the end of a cycle. For many supporters, that moment should have seen a parting of ways and Tavernier should have been allowed to move on as stalwarts of the side such as Connor Goldson, Borna Barisic and John Lundstram departed Ibrox.

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Interest from Turkey and links with a handful of clubs abroad ultimately didn’t materialise. In the first weeks of the campaign, it looked like a season too far for Tavernier and he was a shadow of his former game-changing, match-winning, record-breaking self. The calls for him to leave have naturally subsided after the close of business. Those that wish to see him dropped by Clement have so far been left disappointed but the players that play with him are always likely to appreciate Tavernier more than the fans that watch him.

“Tav is a very unflappable character,” Butland said. “You see very little change in him day to day. He knows what he's got to do, he knows the responsibility of wearing the badge, wearing the armband.

“If he was to come in days moping around, it would bring everyone else down. So that's a testament to him. We've got to continue to support him, he's still going to have massive moments in this football club. 

“We've got huge ambitions for this season and he's always a huge part of that. There are different ways of leading and he has his way. That's what being a team is all about. 

“Everyone, even between us here, we're all different characters, we've all got different strengths. We've all got different ways of showing people what we're about or leading.

“Some are more vocal, some like to put in knee-high challenges that you can't do anymore. But the game has changed and people have changed. 

“There are different characters in it, there are 25 different characters that make up a change room. What's important is you get the best out of yourself and you get the best out of everybody else.

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“It would be wrong for Tav to try and be someone he's not and lose what he's capable of doing or what he can do. As a captain, you've got to be true to yourself, you've got to lead in the way that you feel you can. He certainly does that.”

Tavernier will be the first man in blue out of the tunnel on Sunday as Rangers return to domestic action against Hibernian. Ibrox will be at capacity once again and the home crowd will rightly demand another victory after seeing Clement’s side make it three clean sheets and three wins with three points in Sweden on Thursday evening.

It was a performance and result that Clement admitted was the best of the season so far before stressing the need for Rangers to improve further in the weeks to come. Butland is well aware of that requirement. This next week – with the visits of Lyon and St Johnstone to come – offer an opportunity for the feelgood factor to be harnessed and for momentum to be built.

“There's so many players missing as well,” Butland said. “Look, we don't want to wax lyrical about it, we can say how well we’ve done against Malmo, which we have done and we deserve that. 

“But we all know what this club's all about, we've then got to go and follow it up on Sunday against Hibs. But the boys, you know, even Nana coming in, a defender that can play anywhere across the back, to come in for Jefte, who's had a fantastic start to the season and play as well as he did.

“And everyone else, we can't really single anyone out, I thought the performance was brilliant. And that confidence has been growing. It's important that we build on it and we keep pushing. We know how special it is to play in front of our fans.”