JACKSON: PEDRO’S WIN BONUS
Forget the frailties in new-look Gers, vital victory was a major result for under-pressure boss
PEDRO CAIXINHA will study the tapes of yesterday’s seasonopening win at Motherwell and the studious Rangers manager will not like all that he sees.
But as long as his rebuilding job remains a work in progress – which it clearly is – all that really matters to the Portuguese manager is that he finds a way to win as many matches as he possibly can. By hook or by crook.
Which is why Caixinha deserved his post match glass of Mateus Rose or whatever his tipple of choice was last night after having made it safely home from Fir Park without suffering another early-season accident.
Make no mistake, Caixinha was under all manner of pressure yesterday lunchtime when he took the covers off his new-look team for the first domestic match of the new campaign.
Let’s be perfectly clear here. Caixinha has been in Glasgow long enough by now to know exactly what was coming his way had he got off to another false start in front of Sky TV’s cameras.
Anything less than a victory in Lanarkshire would have brought a crisis rushing back up the marble staircase and, given the series of traumas which have tainted the first few months of his tenure, the manager needed another one like a hole in the head.
So even though this team is a long way off the finished article, it’s possible that Pedro is now seeing the first real signs of progress since his arrival.
In Graham Dorrans, who celebrated his Rangers debut yesterday by scoring both goals in a 2-1 win, Caixinha has secured himself a talisman.
Bruno Alves also represents a major upgrade on what was there before and so long as the veteran has enough left in the tank he could become a Rolls Royce of a signing at the heart of Caixinha’s defence.
Ryan Jack too has added energy and composure to the Rangers midfield and for 45 minutes yesterday Josh Windass looked like a world beater, operating on the left of a reasonably sturdy 4-4-2 formation.
In more general terms, Caixinha’s team looks better organised and more comfortable with the manager’s instructions than previously. In other words, the players appear to understand what is being asked of them which has not always been the case.
All of the above will have quietly pleased Caixinha but the real reason for delight was that his men managed to hang on for a win when it looked as if their frailties and failings might undo them once again, just as they did in Luxembourg last month with such catastrophic consequences.
That humiliating Europa League experience is the reason Caixinha’s every move is under such scrutiny just one weekend into the league season. And why he’ll have been relieved to open up with a win, even one as unconvincing as yesterday’s turned out to be.
That’s why Caixinha will have some uncomfortable moments when he pores over yesterday’s TV evidence in his office at Auchenhowie – and no, not just because of Sky’s attempts at providing some proper coverage and in-depth analysis. Maybe the satellite giants should stick with playing lip service to the Scottish game because this extended version is like pulling teeth.
Still, it’s early days for Hayley and the boys who can only get slicker and more polished as the season goes on.
Which, come to think of it, is exactly what Caixinha must be hoping for from his own group. Yes, there were signs of progress but there was also cause for concern against a Motherwell team that will probably be doing well this season just to keep hold of its top-flight status.
It wasn’t just the sloppy nature of the goal that Rangers gave away late in the first half either – a messy concession which saw Wes Foderingham frozen to his line while his defenders opened up to afford Ben Heneghan a guard of honour inside their own six-yard box.
No, there were other glaring chances for Well to make Caixinha’s first day back at work a great deal more uncomfortable. Louis Moult missed a sitter as did sub Ryan Bowman before Foderingham pulled off a miraculous stop to deny Alex Fisher five minutes from time.
All of this points to a suspect defence despite the partnership between Alves and Fabio Cardoso. Better quality, more ruthless opponents will punish Rangers for such lapses as the season progresses.
And while Caixinha will have to work on these deficiencies he’ll also have to keep his fingers crossed that at least one or two more of his key summer signings begin to find their feet. Caixinha has placed a lot of his faith not to mention a great deal of Dave King’s dosh - in players such as Daniel Candeias, Eduardo Herrera and Alfredo Morelos but all three have got off to slow starts while Dalcio and Carlos Pena couldn’t even get onto the pitch yesterday.
Caixinha has to hope at least a couple of them get up to speed quickly because it’s these new arrivals who were supposed to add a serious attacking edge to a team that still appears to be overly reliant on Kenny Miller’s 37-year-old legs.
Miller has been crying out for a bit of help over the last year or so and if Rangers are to offer a credible challenge then this back-up will have to come from within this batch of largely unknown quantities.
If none of them deliver then Caixinha will have his work cut out just closing the gap on Aberdeen never mind trying to put up a fight to champions Celtic.
For Celtic, the opening day was just like any other under Brendan Rodgers, a domestic stroll bordering on a non event.
Four goals scored, three points in the bag and normal service resumed as if last season had never stopped.
Yes, Rodgers got away with one in Norway last week when James Forrest lashed an unbalanced Celtic side into the Champions League play-offs. Some serious questions would have been asked of the manager’s strategy in the transfer market had injuries and suspensions cost the club £25m of UEFA’s loot.
They may still be if Astana get in Celtic’s way over the next couple of weeks but there were signs on Saturday they were settling back into last season’s stride and when they do, Caixinha’s work really will be cut out. Yesterday was a start but there’s a long road ahead.
It’s possible Pedro is now seeing the first real signs of progress since his arrival