I am totally to blame for defeat, says Pedro
PEDRO CAIXINHA last night shouldered the blame for the latest dismal defeat of his Rangers reign. A 2-0 loss to Motherwell in the semi-final of the Betfred Cup was watched from the Hampden stands by chairman Dave King. And Caixinha is now fighting for his job as Rangers boss after his side were outfought and out-thought by their Fir Park rivals. Sent to the stand after police intervened in an angry touchline row with opposite number Stephen Robinson, a chastened Caixinha accepted responsibility for a dire outcome after his side wasted a raft of chances before Louis Moult’s 52nd-minute opener. ‘I want to first of all
congratulate the team that won,’ said the Rangers boss. ‘The second point is that I need to assume all of the responsibility for our team because of the way the team presented themselves.
‘They were a shade of the team they needed to be. The opponent played better, they played their own game and we allowed them to play their own game.
‘We couldn’t play our game, we couldn’t find a way to play and that is the main reason why the opponent won the game.’
Rangers were angered by the refusal of referee Steven McLean to send off Ryan Bowman for a flailing elbow which forced Fabio Cardoso from the field with a heavily bleeding and broken nose.
In a meaty encounter, Motherwell were also unhappy with a Cardoso elbow on Moult in the 39th minute and a late kick on the two-goal striker from Bruno Alves, which could still attract the attention of the SFA Compliance Officer.
‘I got a little bit angry when I saw Fabio’s nose,’ said Caixinha.
‘We know the team was going to play aggressively, but you also have to look at the rules.
‘The rules don’t allow handballs, they don’t allow elbows.
‘That was all I said. What happens on the pitch, stays on the pitch.
‘But our performance was very poor — not anywhere near what it needed to be.
‘When that happens, I need to assume full responsibility.
‘I am not referring to the referee, I am standing up fully and taking direct responsibility.’
Asked if he felt under pressure with Rangers six points behind Celtic and Aberdeen in the Premiership and out of the Betfred Cup, the Portuguese claimed: ‘No, I’m just really disappointed. I’m disappointed not to deliver what this massive club is chasing. I’m disappointed to lose another chance to get into a final.
‘I’m not under pressure or under stress or whatever. It’s something which is not part of my vocabulary. But of course at this moment, I’m certainly disappointed.’
Rangers play a Kilmarnock side managed by Steve Clarke at home on Wednesday, followed by a difficult trip to Edinburgh to face Hearts next weekend.
‘Now we need to put the players in the right direction and focus on Wednesday,’ added Caixinha.
‘Maybe we don’t need to analyse so much. You need to give the best answer as soon as possible. So it’s good that we have two days to recover before our next match.’
Admitting he expects to hold talks with King before the chairman’s return to South Africa, the manager said: ‘We are pleased he is here, but we are not pleased because we wanted to deliver a victory for him and for this fanbase. They are fantastic all the time, supporting us. It was not possible. Once again, I’m responsible for that.’
Last night, however, Rangers striker Eduardo Herrera tried to defend Caixinha and insisted it was his underperforming players who must shoulder the blame for the cup exit.
‘It’s not fair on the manager because we are the ones performing on the pitch. We are the ones responsible for the result,’ said the Mexico international.
‘We are angry at ourselves with the result and the performance.
‘We had chances to get the result but we didn’t take them.
‘The manager is a really good coach who works very hard and he knows what it means to be at a big club.
‘He knows what it takes to represent Rangers and we as players have absolute confidence in him.’
But Herrera admitted he understood why fans are now directing their frustration towards the manager.
‘We can totally understand why the fans are angry,’ he said.
‘They have reasons to be angry because Rangers is a big club and we should be in the final and looking for the trophy.
‘But we are not and that isn’t what they expect.
‘Everyone is mad because of the result. It’s not a result Rangers should be getting. We know we should have got to the final.
‘We now have two games this week and we have to focus on continuing the good results we have had recently in the league.’