This season has not been a bed of roses for Pedro Caixinha so far. The Rangers’ manager had hoped for a good run in the cup competition, which could have given them an uplift in the Scottish Premiership but embarrassingly, the Gers surrendered themselves to a 2-0 defeat to Motherwell in the semifinal of the Scottish Cup recently.
Louis Moult scored a brace to send Motherwell to the Betfred Cup final which involved some heated exchanges between Caixinha and Stephen Robinson following which they were sent to the stands by the referee.
This defeat could ring the alarm bell for the Portuguese manager, who seems to have very little time in his hand to reshuffle the proceedings at the Ibrox. Despite investing rigorously Caixinha has failed to mould his side into a proper unit. Besides Celtic, there is no team in the country that matches their stature and the Rangers should have emerged as the next big thing in Scotland but instead, Caixinha is busy with the ‘blame game’ which has further deepened the crisis.
Following the defeat, the manager openly criticized his player for not playing up to the mark. “To make history with this club, the chance to get in the final and they play like that? Something is wrong.
“Now they need to prove it. Now they need to move forward and Wednesday is the next chance for them to prove it.
“But I told the players you have embarrassed me, the club and the fans. Now it’s time to react and I am glad we are playing on Wednesday,” he said, after his side’s defeat at the weekend.
Caixinha had earlier accused Rangers star Kenny Miller of leaking secrets of his team and since then, the player has been sent on an exile and he hasn’t featured for the team till date.
The problem occurred following a 2-0 defeat at the hand of Celtic after which Caixinha laid into the team in the dressing room. Miller has been Rangers’ most influential player and is well adored by the supporters. This might even end Miller’s time at the club, which will be a blow for the fans.
So it seems Caixinha has somehow lost the plot and his tenure has been full of shortcomings. He hasn’t won three matches in a row since he took charge at the Ibrox, which speaks volumes about his stewardship.
So perhaps, the Portuguese gaffer should turn his attention towards getting the best out of his squad, refraining from trash talk in the media. Blaming the players could be disastrous and this scapegoating needs to stop, atleast for the progress of the club.
