IT’S A MAD, MAD WORLD IN THE PREMIERSHIP
appears to be taking in all manner of bad advice.
On Saturday, after losing his first match of the season just two games into the league campaign, he lashed out at Lennon while also depicting himself as some sort of outcast in Scottish football, although quite why he feels so put upon or victimised remains something of a mystery.
All this stuff might strike a chord with those among the Ibrox hardcore who dislike Lennon or who wilfully dismiss any sort of criticism of Caixinha as xenophobic axe grinding.
But the more salient Rangers observers will have greater concerns about the manager’s failure to reorganise his team properly following Ryan Jack’s red card.
By leaving two men up front he allowed Hibs to dominate the middle of the pitch and as a result Rangers resorted to shelling long, hopeful punts up the park in the off chance that they might benefit from the break of a ball.
Lennon wasn’t just outraging him and assistant Helder Baptista, he was outmanoeuvring them.
The bottom line here in all of this is that Caixinha has already lost his first three points of the campaign – weeks after overseeing arguably the worst European humiliation in the history of Scottish football. He can stamp his feet until he’s blue in the face but respect has to be earned.
Should Caixinha suffer a similar fate next time out at home to Edinburgh’s other half, then he’ll need a great deal more than just a handily placed pantomime villain to take the heat off. And we’re only two games into a new season.
Yes, all things considered it really has been an explosive beginning to the latest instalment of Scottish football’s never-ending soap opera. Trump and Kim will fit right in.
But for now – or at least until they get here – let’s hope it’s just the game that’s back with a bang.
the gym. Some of us go to the football