‘Caixinha will only settle for the very best’
Fleeting: Ibrox target has ‘aggressive’ style
PEDRO CAIXINHA, who is set to be confirmed as manager of Rangers this week, has an “aggressive” style and demands the “very best” from his players, according to Jim Fleeting, the SFA director of football development.
Fleeting worked with Caixinha when the 46-year-old Portuguese was undertaking his coaching qualifications in Scotland and remembers him being an “extremely competent coach” who attained his A and B Licences with ease.
The appointment of the former Uniao Leiria, Nacional and Santos Laguna manager, who is currently in charge at Al-Gharafa in Qatar, ahead of the likes of Alex McLeish, Alex Neil and Gary Rowett has taken Scottish football by surprise. However, Fleeting believes the experienced former Sporting Lisbon, Panathinaikos and Rapid Bucharest assistant – who followed the same route that his compatriot Jose Mourinho took into coaching after being personally urged to come here by the current Manchester United manager – will bring many qualities to the Ibrox role.
“Pedro completed his A Licence and his B Licence in Scotland, but he didn’t complete his UEFA Pro-Licence because he was offered a job during it and obviously had to take the opportunity,” said Fleeting. “He has done very well since, which we obviously like to see.
“We have always had a sizeable Port- uguese contingent on our coaching courses since Jose Mourinho, who was sent over here by Bobby Robson through his link with Andy Roxburgh, came over. He was kind enough to say some nice things about us. Last year we had three or four Portuguese coaches, including Costinha and Maniche.
“You always know you are going to see a few of them. We are fortunate because these boys bring something a bit different to the courses. We don’t like them to be the same. I sometimes think we are picking up as much from them as they are from us. It is always good to learn from other nationalities.”
Meanwhile, Fleeting has predicted that Graeme Murty, the ex-Reading and Scotland defender who has been in temporary charge of Rangers since the departure of Mark Warburton last month, will have benefited hugely from his brief stint in the dugout at Ibrox.
Murty orchestrated an emphatic 6-0 victory over Hamilton Academical at home in the William Hill Scottish Cup quarter-final on Saturday. And Fleeting believes the time the former right back has spent in the dugout at Ibrox will open doors for him if he decides that his future lies in the senior game. “Graeme is currently doing his UEFA ProLicence,” he said. “To have something like managing Rangers onyour cv will be invaluable to him going forward.”