James Tavernier has hailed Jack Butland as "phenomenal", insisting that the goalkeeper's impact at Rangers has helped to instil confidence in the Ibrox defence.
The former Manchester United and Stoke City stopper moved to Glasgow in the summer on a four-year deal after club legend Allan McGregor moved on at the end of the last campaign.
Butland has already made an impact at his new club and he was called upon with two huge saves as Rangers defeated Servette in Champions League qualifying on Tuesday night.
“Big Jack has been absolutely phenomenal since he came into the building," explained Gers captain Tavernier.
“We obviously lost a great keeper in Allan, but Jack has come in and he’s certainly made his mark.
“He made some unbelievable saves against Servette to keep us in.
“I actually think I put him in good stead in training when I was one-on-one on Monday and he made a save.
“He pulled off two massive saves and that’s what sets great goalkeepers apart.
“As a team and as a defensive line we know we can put our full trust in Jack and he certainly delivered for us.”
Tavernier popped up with the winning goal to ensure Rangers landed an aggregate victory over their Swiss rivals on Tuesday, but the defender feels Butland's saves were equally as important.
He added: “The saves were massive and made at a crucial time. We went 1-0 down and he made a massive save.
“It was poor from ourselves because we weren’t close enough to the striker when the runner comes through. They were humongous saves.
“To lose Allan was always going to be hard because it’s not easy to replace that kind of quality.
“But huge credit to the gaffer, the scouting department and the board who have really invested in the players who have come in because they have all added real quality to the team.
“That’s the main thing. Our team is obviously new and we’re getting better and better.
“But to obviously have that quality come in makes such a difference on big nights like Tuesday.”
