STARVE THE MOLES TO PLUG LEAKS

TO A football manager, dressing-room leaks are the ultimate betrayal.

Pedro Caixinha has launched a hunt for moles in his Rangers squad.

Before asking who might be feeding stories to journalists, however, he might ask a more pressing question. Why?

Football dressing rooms have always harboured malcontents and renegades. Players who simply don’t fancy the manager. Agents who think their client is getting a raw deal.

But history tells us this much. Rangers and Celtic managers have to handle dressing rooms carefully. One false move can blow the bloody doors off.

Paul Le Guen signed the longest suicide note in history when he told captain Barry Ferguson his Rangers career was finished.

Tony Mowbray arrived at Celtic and promised a clear-out.

Nine months later, the same players downed tools in a 4-0 thrashing at St Mirren — and the only thing being cleared was the manager’s desk. Ronny Deila was doomed from the minute he banned chips and fizzy drinks from the dining room at Lennoxtown.

Caixinha has vowed to spend the summer signing players he knows and trusts.

It’s obvious a mediocre Ibrox squad needs an injection of fresh blood. The current bunch are not fit for purpose.

But, for now, the Portuguese has to work with what he has. And some players won’t fancy the manager telling the world that he needs a job lot of new players. Or coming under suspicion for leaking trade secrets.

Caixinha’s first option is to identify the dressing-room moles and weed them out.

But a glance at the Rangers squad shows players on contracts until 2019 or 2020, who are earning more money now than they could anywhere else. Some might feel they will be there long after the manager is gone.

The other option is to win a few games — starting with this afternoon’s match against Ian Cathro’s Hearts.

When Deila managed Celtic, the club leaked like a sieve.

Improving results, performances and morale, Brendan Rodgers has stifled the whispers of dissent

Stomping on a molehill is just one course a manager can take.

Starving the moles of oxygen offers a better chance of success.