Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Caixinha vying to wrestle second place from Dons
PEDRO Caixinha admits Rangers do not deserve to finish as runners-up to Celtic if they cannot find a way to topple Aberdeen on Sunday.
The Ibrox boss watched his new team slip 12 points behind the Dons after a frustrating 0-0 draw away to Kilmarnock.
With just seven games remaining, time is running out for Gers to snatch second but they do still have to play Derek McInnes’ men twice — starting with this weekend’s Pittodrie encounter.
And Caixinha has now laid down the gauntlet to his team.
“It’s getting difficult,” admitted the Portuguese coach. “We know we need to play twice against Aberdeen and that they have to play against all of the top six again.
“The maths says it can still be done but the next game will be crucial to understand if you are able or not.
“If you don’t win Sunday against Aberdeen, you don’t deserve to be in second position. But that is my challenge. It is something we need to prove to ourselves.
“We are Rangers. We want to fight. At this moment, this is the challenge we need to try and fight for.”
The Gers were largely on top at Rugby Park but were held to an Ayrshire stalemate for the second time this season.
It came after Caixinha took the unusual step of naming his starting line-up a day early.
With five defenders missing he stayed true to his word and put out the 11 he named during his pre-match press conference, with youngsters David Bates and Myles Beerman making their debuts.
“It doesn’t matter which 11 we have,” he said. “Let’s go to war. Would I do it again? If I need to do it, I will do it.”