Treatment of Caixinha questioned by Wallace

RANGERS captain Lee Wallace has questioned whether Brendan Rodgers would be treated in the same way Pedro Caixinha was in a recent BT Sport interview. After a 3-1 win over Ross County on August 27, Caixinha was repeatedly pressed by pundit and ex-Celtic striker Chris Sutton over his belief he is in charge of the ‘best squad’ at Ibrox. The tense exchange prompted an online backlash from Rangers fans, some of whom claimed the Portuguese manager was becoming an easy target for criticism because he is foreign. Asked about that viewpoint, Wallace said: ‘I’m not sure. I remember watching the situation you are talking about and I did feel there was a small part of that. I’m

not sure if it was Brendan Rodgers standing next to the guys that that might have been the way that the questions were going. ‘These guys are in these jobs for these reasons, and we will never complain about that. We just have to get on with it, keep fighting through that, and understand that sometimes that is the way these things go, especially being at a top club. ‘We are always ready for these kind of situations and I think the manager was quite strong and handled himself well.’ Rangers are back in front of the BT Sport cameras this evening as they face Partick Thistle while seeking a third successive Premiership win. Caixinha has explained his ‘best squad’ stance as an indicator of faith in his players and Wallace insisted he drew inspiration from the manager’s upbeat approach. ‘We always respect whatever the manager says and, at the same time, as an aspiring coach myself, I can totally understand where the manager is coming from,’ said Wallace. ‘I get how you guys take it, which is fine, but I can totally understand that the manager is showing he has got top faith in his players as individuals and as a team. ‘One day, we want to make sure that he is proven right. ‘That is one thing he has got — whether it is a training day, when we watch his press conferences, the pre-match stuff — he is inspirational. He is very passionate and very motivated and we respond well to that. ‘We know as players that he is very strong in his ways. He will never deviate from how he works on the training pitch. It is very specific to how we try to play on a Saturday. ‘He knows it’s a massive club. He totally understands the scrutiny and the flak that will come his way. ‘It has never changed him as a person. He’s really, really strong. ‘He’s very good on the training ground, very good one-to-one. ‘I am sure he will be happy with the way things have gone — but he also recognises that there is a long way to go.’