Three points at Pittodrie now a must for Caixinha

PEDRO CAIXINHA admits Rangers will not deserve to harbour hope of finishing second in the Premiership unless they manage to beat Aberdeen on Sunday. Last night’s goalless draw at Kilmarnock means the Ibrox side are now 12 points adrift of the Dons ahead of their win-or-bust weekend trip north. With only seven games remaining, Caixinha is refusing to write off Rangers’ fading hopes. But the 46-year-old recognises the need for three points in a hostile Pittodrie atmosphere. ‘It’s getting difficult,’ said Caixinha. ‘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. ‘We are Rangers. We want to fight. At this moment, this is the challenge we need to try and fight for at the moment.’ Caixinha was happy with the clean sheet earned at Rugby Park by an injury-hit defence — containing debutants Myles Beerman and David Bates — but admitted Rangers had otherwise fallen short of the required standard. ‘There were good moments and we had scoring chances,’ he added. ‘But it’s not enough. We are Rangers, we have a culture of winning and getting the three points all the time. So we cannot be happy drawing the game.’ Kilmarnock counterpart Lee McCulloch admitted altering elements of his game plan after Caixinha took the unusual step of publicly naming his starting line-up more than 30 hours before kick-off. However, the Ibrox boss stood by the move and insisted he could repeat it in the future. ‘Sometimes you might be bluffing but I am not a bluffing guy,’ added Caixinha. ‘I need to give confidence to my team. That was the message for the opponents and for all of Scotland, but it was especially a message for our players to say that I am counting on you. ‘Would I do it again? If I need to do it, I will do it for sure.’ The point maintains Kilmarnock’s slender chances of reaching the top six, with interim boss McCulloch admitting surprised at being given notice of the Rangers line-up. ‘I’ve never heard it being done in Scottish football,’ he said. ‘But if a manager wants to name his team a day before a game he can. ‘I wouldn’t do it. I wait until an hour and 15 minutes before the game to give it to the referee. But I’d never be critical of another manager.’