Caixinha in bizarre Vegas rant to media

Pedro Caixinha refused to divulge details of what was reportedly a heated Rangers team meeting in the wake of Saturday’s defeat by Celtic, with the Ibrox manager insisting yesterday, “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”.

But it is the altogether less glamorous setting of Hamilton’s Superseal Stadium which could see the defining match of his reign in Glasgow.

Caixinha’s side take on Accies tomorrow as they seek to bounce back from the 2-0 home loss to Celtic. The Rangers manager was reluctant

to confirm claims that he had read the riot act to his squad following the defeat at Ibrox which leaves them in fifth place, eight points behind the champions and six points adrift of secondplaced Aberdeen.

The top four meet on Saturday when Celtic host Hibernian while the Dons are at home to St Johnstone. Should Rangers fail to prevail at Hamilton and fall further behind the pace-setters then it is difficult to imagine how he can continue in charge.

While refusing to go into great detail regarding the content of his address to his squad on Monday – it is alleged that he accused the British contingent of not making himself nor his raft of foreign signings feel welcome – Caixinha confessed that he will have a better idea of how much he can rely on his squad by fulltime on Friday evening.

“Have you ever been to Las Vegas? What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas, so that’s the first thing,” Caixinha said. “I’m not going to discuss with you what I discuss over breakfast with my family, so I’m not going to discuss what I said with my team.” Asked whether he believed the dressing room was united, the Portuguese replied: “Totally, but you will need to ask me that after Friday, because if you feel that reaction, the reaction we want, we will have our answer on Friday. The boys have been brilliant working as a team.”

Rangers are unbeaten in their last 23 meetings with Hamilton. Accies’ last success came at Ibrox, in January, 1987, when Adrian Sprott’s goal knocked Graeme Souness’s team out of the Scottish Cup.

They have not beaten Rangers at home since December 1938, nine months before Britain declared war on Germany.

Hamilton winger Louis Longridge says his club can end their long wait.

“We believe we can get a positive result against them,” he said. “We don’t fear Rangers coming here. If they are on the ball and everything clicks then they will make it hard but, by the same token, if we put in the work and stick to the basics then we can get a positive result.”