Old Firm frenzy will not faze Caixinha, says Lovenkrands
THE disappointment for Peter Lovenkrands is that he is not spending the next few days offering Pedro Caixinha insight into the specific mayhem that can result from an Old Firm collision.
That was his ambition when interviewed by Caixinha last month. The Dane was one of several ex-Rangers players under consideration during the hunt for a No 3 coach with local knowledge to join the manager’s backroom staff.
Despite eventually losing out on the role to Jonatan Johansson, Lovenkrands came away from the experience with a very positive impression of the man now calling the shots at Ibrox.
In his eyes, Caixinha’s tactics and personality have already made a real impact on the Rangers squad. Four clean sheets have been amassed in five unbeaten outings. Young players have been blooded. Confidence has slowly risen.
Now, however, comes the ultimate test. A derby meeting with Celtic in a Scottish Cup semi-final would be an epic affair in any season. The fact their rivals are aiming to become Treblewinners and Invincibles adds a further depth of intensity to Sunday’s Hampden affair.
With a league meeting at Ibrox to follow six days later, Caixinha is entering a period that will remove any misconceptions about management in Glasgow.
The pressure doesn’t sit easily on the shoulders of some. Lovenkrands, though, doesn’t expect Caixinha to be found wanting.
‘I don’t think anything is going to faze him, really,’ said Lovenkrands. ‘After meeting him and speaking to him, I think he knows what he wants and is very focused on what he is looking for from the players and the club. I think he will probably be more excited about it than anything.
‘The thing that impressed me most when I met him were his ideas and the way he’s thinking football-wise.
‘We had the same type of mentality in terms of our thoughts on football and training. He came across as very clever, he knows his stuff, and he appears to be very hard-working in terms of preparation.
‘I think he’ll be fine in his first experience of the derby, but only time will tell because the Old Firm can get to anyone in the heat of the moment and we’ve seen that before.
‘In terms of the coaching job, Rangers phoned and asked me to go in for a chat and, of course, I hoped I was going to get that opportunity. I am happy for Jonatan that he got the chance instead and I’m sure he’ll do well, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed.
‘I wished Pedro all the best when he told me the news although I had already said that when I came out of the meeting. I want to see the club back where they used to be.’ Rangers suffered three successive derby defeats under Mark Warburton before earning a 1-1 draw at Celtic Park last month when Graeme Murty was interim manager. Caixinha watched from the stand that afternoon and Lovenkrands believes the Portuguese has astutely built upon what he witnessed.
‘I’m not sure if you can change the mentality of individuals but they play in a different way and they are more direct,’ added the 37-year-old (left).
‘They’re playing with more purpose going forward, more attack-minded, and that makes it more interesting for me.
‘That is the key and, of course, the clean sheets. It’s going to be tough against Celtic but Rangers did well in the last game and will be looking to do the same again.’
Rangers’ shoot-out success in last season’s semi-final grew belief of a credible challenge to Celtic’s supremacy.
It quickly crumbled. Brendan Rodgers’ appointment has shifted the champions on to a new level.
Sitting third in the Premiership, Rangers lie a massive 33 points adrift of Celtic. Lovenkrands, though, hangs on to the idea of the Old Firm occasion being a leveller.
‘I’ve said it before that any time you go into one of these games, I always see it as a 50-50,’ he claimed. ‘It doesn’t matter that Celtic have won the league already, done fantastically well and are unbeaten.
‘It is five to ten minutes into an Old Firm game when you can see where it is all happening. A tackle can change everything.’
Last year, a spectacular Barrie McKay strike helped Rangers to success. Twelve months on, the winger now finds himself approaching a crossroads having rejected a contract offer. Urged by Caixinha to show more aggression, the 22-year-old was substituted at half-time in Saturday’s win over Partick Thistle.
‘I think Barrie is a fantastic talent and it’s about taking that next step now,’ said Lovenkrands, who scored the winner in the 2002 Old Firm Scottish Cup Final.
‘Where is that going to be? Only Barrie knows that. I look back on things people said to me when I was younger: “Now he has to take the next step”, although I was played out of position for five-and-a-half years.
‘Barrie knows himself what he is good at but he also has to recognise what he has to be better at.’
Peter Lovenkrands was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is a proud sponsor of the Scottish Cup.