Rangers FC, the Scottish heavyweights, were supposed to be a formidable force under Pedro Caixinha who has already acquired nine new faces in his first full season in charge. The Portuguese tactician was hoping to reignite the age-old rivalry against Celtic FC and end their dominance by reconquering the league throne that they last won six seasons back.
Celtic, under former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, remained ‘invincible’ last term in all domestic competitions and won a ‘treble’ in Rangers’ top flight return following four years of absence.
The Gers, although finished third in the league, were 39 points behind their fierce rivals and Caixinha was brought in to rebuild their side towards the end of the previous campaign. The Portuguese tactician, who previously had managerial experience in both Portugal and Mexico, used his contacts to recruit a few exciting names but failed so far to create an amalgamation within his squad.
They suffered a shambolic Europa League qualifying Round 1 defeat against Luxembourg minnows FC Progres Niedercorn and Caixinha was heavily criticised for not using his options properly. Celtic, on the other hand, have secured a comfortable victory against Linfield FC in UEFA Champions League second qualifying Round and the Gers’ latest friendly defeat against league counterparts St. Johnstone has fumed the supporters who were dreaming of a title challenge.
The new boss, however, is optimistic of his new signings and believes his side will be ready prior to August’s opening fixture against Motherwell.
“I believe in the first half especially, in what was a team which you could call close to the first XI, they totally understood what we want if you exclude the chances we had and didn’t score.
It was very, very good and the opponent didn’t have any chances at all to get in the game and perform their own game. We were performing our game – being balanced in attack, having a presence in the box and creating and scoring chances, but not scoring. I am happy with that as that is the basis of the work.”
Caixinha explained his side’s performance in club’s official website.
The gaffer certainly made a few mistakes as lack of local players cost them big in their shocking European exit. He only signed a couple of Scottish stars in form of former Aberdeen skipper Ryan Jack and former Premier League as well as Championship veteran Graham Dorrans. Caixinha is now keen on adding more local talents and sighted Hearts attacker Jamie Walker as his next transfer target.
He is experimenting with his squad to find the best possible eleven for the forthcoming season and the fans must keep patience before terming him as a failure without allowing to implement his philosophy in a squad that is still very much in transition.
Caixinha, although having recruited ample new faces, must find a proven goalscorer who will be an instant success and capable of adding around 20 goals a season. 37-year old veteran Kenny Miller has been their top scorer in the league last term and the Gers’ need someone who can have a long term future ahead with the Glasgow giants similar to Brendan Rodgers’ Hoops, who have two sensational strikers in Moussa Dembele and Leigh Griffiths.
With proper recruits and sharp tactics, Caixinha still can upturn Rangers’ fortunes and give Celtic a run for their money during next season.
