HANG ON A SECOND
Caixinha’s semi-final warning
PEDRO CAIXINHA has warned his Rangers players if they slacken off after yesterday’s stunning win at Pittodrie they’ll be out of the Scottish Cup semi-final with Celtic.
The hardline Ibrox gaffer is demanding a repeat of the commitment and intensity that saw them beat Aberdeen when they face Partick Thistle at Ibrox on Saturday.
And if he doesn’t get it there will be changes for the Hampden showdown.
Caixinha – who confirmed Record Sport online’s exclusive that former winger Jonatan Johansson is to join his coaching staff – wants to ensure there is no let up from his players following the 3-0 triumph that reduced the gap in the race for second place
to nine points. He refused to say if Kenny Miller’s two goals – sub Joe Dodoo grabbed the third – will be enough to earn the veteran a new deal.
But Caixinha said: “We showed a lot of organisation and sacrifice. The team understood perfectly well the opponent we were facing. And when the team needed to suffer, the team knows how to suffer, especially in the first 15-20 minutes of the second half when Aberdeen went all the way.”
Asked if the result will give his team belief ahead of the Celtic match he said: “We still have one game before then. It would be a great mistake from myself to prepare for a game two weeks in advance when we have another game in the middle.
“I will send a message to our players – if some of them think they can slow down on Saturday they will not be playing at Hampden. It is that clear.”
The Ibrox boss insisted while Miller’s contribution was important, it was a real team effort. He added: “Maybe I’m going to make a new contract extension to Wes Foderingham for him making a brilliant save when the game was 0-0.
“It is about the team and we showed today we were a team. We were facing a strong side and it’s important we have players who can decide games at both ends.
“I am making my assessment and I will tell you when I think is the right time to tell you, whether Kenny is going to continue or not. First of all he is the one who needs to know from me – not you.
“We still have a lot of work in front of us. The most important thing now is when you have work in front of you and need to build, it’s always better to build when you have wins behind you.
“But we’re not going to reduce the pace of the demand or the focus on the demand. We won’t reduce the passion of winning. We need to keep going like this because this is the only way I know and it’s the only way this club demands.”
Rangers last night confirmed Johansson is to join Caixinha’s backroom team. The Finn emerged as Caixinha’s choice for a coaching role at the Ibrox club after a series of interviews.
Peter Lovenkrands was also given an interview and it’s understood Billy Stark – a right-hand man to Tommy Burns during their time together at Celtic – was also considered for the role.
But Caixinha personally told all the unsuccessful candidates on Saturday night that Johansson is now the clear frontrunner.
The 41-year-old spent three seasons at Ibrox after being signed by Walter Smith in 1997.
After hanging up his boots in 2011 Johansson became reserve-team coach at Morton before moving to Motherwell to coach the Under-20s for three seasons.