MURTY BIDS TO STEADY THE SHIP STEADY THE SHIP
CAIXINHA: Interim boss charts a different course from captain of chaos Pedro
TO Pedro Caixinha’s lengthy list of shortcomings as a football manager, a willingness to cut off his nose to spite his face was a predictable late addition.
The exact details of what was and wasn’t said in the team meeting which immediately followed the home defeat to Celtic last month may never enter the public domain. But what is established as fact is that Kenny Miller never again pulled on a Rangers jersey under the Portuguese manager.
No one — not even the veteran striker — would claim he’s been in a rich vein of form this season. About to turn 38, he can’t stop the passing of time. Yet, to be sent to footballing Siberia to face the likes of Brentford’s B-team stank of retribution from a manager who had the temerity to claim the player was still in his plans and was ‘one of us’.
Having enjoyed a good working relationship with the now former Rangers boss, Graeme Murty isn’t about to take a verbal flamethrower to Caixinha’s reputation.
But it speaks volumes that the man who has again stepped up from his role as development team manager will waste no time in restoring Miller to his rightful place.
He saw further evidence of the striker’s uncompromising professionalism during various excursions with his young players over the past month. And given how devoid of leadership and confidence the first-team now appears, he knows a ready-made solution when he sees one.
‘He has a big influence in the changing room,’ Murty said of Miller. ‘We have to make sure all of the players have a positive influence on their team-mates, so we can go forward as a squad.
‘Every team from every dressing room has to make sure they go out and represent the club properly. So when the team walks out, all of their members will be represented. Not just the 11 that start the game or the ones on the bench.’
Murty struck a diplomatic tone when asked how he viewed the impasse between Miller and Caixinha.
‘It wasn’t for me to comment because I wasn’t in on it,’ he said. ‘I didn’t see what was going on. Every manager picks the squad as they see fit.
‘It was easy for me because I said to the young players: “Watch this guy’s attitude when he trains and plays”.
‘Kenny and Niko (Kranjcar), when he played against Dundee, as well as Aaron (Nemane) and Dalcio when they came down, they comported themselves very well and so did Danny Wilson.
‘So I have no problems about the players in the squad. If they are fit for selection, they will have an opportunity to play.’
There’s a warmth and humility to Murty that was conspicuous by its absence with Caixinha, who seemed to revel in confrontation and rancour. It got him nowhere other than being ushered towards the exit door after seven months.
A more congenial approach won’t in itself win Murty football matches, but being able to call upon a more united front won’t do his chances any harm either.
‘I have watched them play, I have watched them train,’ he said. ‘But management and coaching is about personal relationship and making sure the players feel comfortable with me and I am comfortable with them.
‘I need to get my message across so the players can be great on the pitch.
‘There are players I haven’t actually worked with in the group, so I’ll be trying to get about them more than I did the last time.
‘The last time, I had more of a relationship with them, so it’s my job to get them to understand me so that they can give their best.’
They certainly left nothing out on the field as his first stint in temporary charge ended with a score draw at Celtic Park in March.
With Caixinha watching from the stand, a Rangers side widely expected to be blown away produced a gritty display superior to anything the Portuguese managed in his three derbies.
‘That was difficult at Celtic Park, but I’m really proud of what we did,’ recalled Murty.
‘The lessons I learned about myself and about this football club from that day… I would be a Grade A fool not to remember and draw on those.
‘I learned that the players when they walk on to that pitch need to be together, they need to have a manner of playing, an identity and a togetherness.’
That day brought Murty much kudos among the fan base. If anything, Caixinha’s subsequent failings only served to elevate his status among them.
‘Continuing goodwill from the fans is earned daily,’ he stressed.
‘You can’t look back at what you did six months ago, a year ago or 18 months ago. You have to go and earn it every day. It’s only rented off them. We need to make sure we go and earn it off them every day and in every single game.’
The irony of what happened that afternoon — and Caixinha’s apparent inability to learn from it — was lost on no one.
Finding a formation and a gameplan to frustrate Celtic, Murty’s side emerged with a point few thought possible.
For one day at least, the chasm between Celtic and Rangers did not seem quite so wide. Optimism among the light blue legions briefly abounded. But if
anything, Caixinha’s calamitous reign widened the gulf.
‘Things have changed in our situation and in their situation,’ said Murty. ‘All we can do is make sure we put as much pressure on ourselves to perform and bridge that gap by playing really well and winning as many games as possible.
‘If we take care of ourselves on the football pitch, everything else around us will take care of itself. Our job at Rangers is to overcome the challenge in front of us. The challenge at the moment is bridging the gap between us and them. We have to. It’s imperative this club does that. This club has been built on success after success. It’s our challenge collectively to make sure we strive to get back there.’
One wonders where Rangers would be right now had they put their faith in a straight-talking man like Murty as opposed to being suckered by the bluff and bluster of the man they did employ.
Whether his remit lasts days, weeks or longer, you certainly wouldn’t bet against Murty’s common-sense approach eating up some of the ground that has been lost.
‘All the players have to help me and help each other — it’s not about one player,’ he said.
‘I have personal relationships with people I have worked with previously, but all of the players have a duty to help each other on and off the football pitch to represent the club properly.
‘I firmly believe that. All the way through my football career, all the way through my coaching career, it is more about the club you represent as opposed to an individual.’