TALKING RANGERS

RANGERS have failed their Premiership examination. With major tests still to come, the report card can still be salvaged, though.

The Light Blues have never looked like being top of the class this term and only a Scottish Cup win can now prevent the campaign being classed as a complete write-off.

Clinching second spot in the standings would be a minor success, but one that counts for little when the gap to Celtic and their showings overall are taken into account.

Pedro Caixinha has inherited a squad that have underperformed and underachieved in recent months and been tasked with coaxing any improvement possible out of a team that are likely to finish third in the Premiership.

The appointment of the Portuguese was a fresh start at Ibrox but this season still has to be put to bed before the Light Blues can fully move on and look to what they hope will be a brighter future.

The Gers must prove points as well as earn them. And with six league outings and a Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic to come, defender Danny Wilson knows there are plenty of chances to repair some of the self-inflicted damage under Caixinha’s guidance.

“I have really enjoyed it,” he told SportTimes. “It has been a different way of working and there is a different analysis and training.

“When you get a new manager in, everyone is trying hard to impress and we have seen that in the squad in training.

“Bringing a manager in at this stage of the season, it is about bedding ideas in going towards next season but the way that we are at the club we know we have to finish strongly.

“We are not daft and if you look at the league table then that is evidence enough that we have not been at it this season.

“It has been disappointing but we have got games to try and put it right a wee bit and get a bit of respect back to us as player.

“We owe it to the fans as well because they have had a tough time this season down to us so we need to try and repay them.”

Having started the season full of excitement and expectation after finally ending their time in the lower leagues, there will be few Gers fans sad to see the back of an unsatisfactory and unacceptable campaign.

Points have been lost too often as performance levels haven’t hit the heights required and the lows have far outweighed the highs.

It hasn’t been the return to the top flight that Rangers had targeted, and Wilson hopes the Light Blues can salvage some pride i n their final few outings.

He said: “I think it has been an accumulation of things. We have been able to put good teams on the pitch but for one reason or another we just haven’t got the results.

“These things happen in football and we need to try and find ways of being better.

“Sometimes we have done that but we haven’t done it consistently enough over the course of the season and that is why we have been found wanting. There are a host of reasons why it hasn’t gone right for us but we as players need to take ownership of that and we are the ones that have to do better.”

THE arrival of Caixinha has given Rangers a timely shot in the arm and the remaining fixtures will be crucial for the 46-year-old.

His impact has been immediate as he has put his philosophy across to his players and emerged undefeated from his first four outings in the dugout.

And Wilson has enjoyed the fresh approach that Caixinha has brought to Auchenhowie and Ibrox in recent weeks.

He said: “He is analytical but he is not over the top with it. It is not like we are sitting in there every day doing bits and pieces.

“If something is relevant he will make sure that that point is put across. He is good at that side of the game and he has got his staff there as well.

“Everyone knows what they are doing and everything is for the team and that can only help us. If they are putting that much effort in then we have to do exactly the same.”

It will take time for Caixinha to settle into life at Ibrox and for his players to fully understand the new blueprint that he is attempting to implement.

The Gers boss will use the remaining fixtures this term to assess his squad and consider his options as he prepares for a foray into the transfer market this summer.

It is a change as well as a chance. It is one that Wilson is determined to make the most of.

He said: “We work as a group