A Plan B cos for Porto B

IBROX, TONIGHT, 7.45

PEDRO CAIXINHA’S predecessor Mark Warburton didn’t have a Plan B for Scottish football.

But the man Caixinha has entrusted with guiding Rangers back to the top reckons he’s sussed it in just 90 minutes.

Bruno Alves doesn’t need a Plan B – not when he’s got Porto B to rely on.

Caixinha admitted his countryman’s introduction to Scottish football was tough after the opening-day league win at Motherwell, with the Portugal defender claiming the style reminded him of his homeland’s reserve league.

Ahead of the visit of Dunfermline for tonight’s Betfred Cup clash Caixinha said: “I spoke to Bruno who found it very different. He said it reminded him of playing for Porto B because it was a lot more physical. He said it was different because the ball was always in the air.

“We must change things to dictate the style more. The reality is the Scottish game is different and we need not to adapt but know how to deal with it.”

Caixinha admitted to being surprised himself when he arrived in Glasgow from Qatar in March because the reality of Scottish football is nothing like the theory he sampled taking his coaching badges at the SFA’s Largs base.

But the 46-year-old insists he won’t ditch his philosophy and will just find a way to cope with the challenges.

Caixinha has already warned Mexican striker Eduardo Herrera to deal with being a target for defenders after he came in for some rough treatment at Fir Park.

He said: “It’s definitely much more physical than I was expecting. When I was here, for example, on the coaches courses to take my badges I understood them to be really tactically orientated.

“The sessions are organised regarding one formation and one content and working on that basis. I understand on the basis of that, that Scottish football

GAVIN BERRY

sport@dailyrecord.co.uk is dominated by tactics. For me tactics should be dominant but it looks like in the real world physicality is the main content of the majority of the teams.

“I’m not against or for. It’s just a different way to see the game. For me the most important thing is about decisions, and the decisions are tactical and not physical.

“You need to be fit to play a football match. You have to understand the physicality you have is different from other teams because you play differently. That’s the way it is.

“It’s about knowing how to deal with it and know how to get hold of it but never change. Otherwise I lose my identity and if I lose my identity I will be nothing. No one.”

Louis Moult was booked for a foul on Fabio Cardoso with the Motherwell striker conceding the penalty that led to Rangers’ winning goal on Sunday.

But Caixinha’s message to his players is to learn to cope rather than moan at officials. He said: “I’m always here to support the referees. They are decision makers like I am but sometimes I have more time than them to make that decision.

“They just need to decide in that moment. I am the first one to raise my hand and defend the referees. They have my support. It’s just the way it is. They know how to do it.”

Caixinha is convinced Herrera will be a success in Scotland but admitted both he and fellow striker Alfredo Morelos need goals to ease the pressure. And he fears they are trying too hard to score.

He said: “That was one point that I discussed with Eduardo and Alfredo but not with Kenny Miller because he has already scored and he will score a lot more, like both of them.

“The strikers always live for goals. But the question is how you deal with your self expectations. If you are too focused on just score, just score, just score, maybe the goals are not going to come. “If you take it calm and you keep working in that direction you know sooner or later the goal will come.

“When we were discussing in the pre-season the situation about efficiency, we are scoring around 20 per cent of the chances that we are creating. That is almost nothing.

“There has been one problem since we started pre-season and everybody was commentating and asking me.

“The goals are going to arrive, the way we are creating the scoring chances we are going to score goals. “In the last three matches we have an average of two goals scored. We need more definitely. We need to be more efficient on the situations we create.

“However, I am totally sure that the goals are going to arrive and the strikers will score.”