We have to defend traditions
EUROPA LEAGUE Caixinha bullish over banning green boots and new ‘We Are The People’ signs at Ibrox
YOU would surely need to have been born yesterday to believe that, when it comes to all things fair in this life, love and war operate some kind of duopoly.
Gaining the most slender of advantages in the cut-throat game of professional football has never had much scope for diplomacy or niceties. The rules are that there are no rules.
Speaking recently in an interview in Portugal, Pedro Caixinha offered a remarkable illustration of the lengths he is prepared to go to in order to gain the most miniscule of edges as he seeks to rebuild Rangers.
If his admission that plastering the interior walls of the club’s stadium and training base with notices bearing the slogan ‘We Are The People’ raised eyebrows, the banning of green boots from the premises threatened to enter into uncomfortable territory.
When pressed on the matter in Luxembourg yesterday, though, the Rangers manager was bullish in his defence.
The possible reaction of Celtic and the wider Scottish football community to such a contentious step is evidently a matter of total indifference to him. The Portuguese feels there is something to be gained from it. And in this sporting war, the end always justifies the means.
‘It is an internal issue,’ he said. ‘We don’t normally comment on what type of boots people wear.
‘All clubs need to have their own culture. We have our culture, history and traditions and we just need to keep it and defend it.
‘Details count. All the details count. If you want to have that vision and that mission, they count even more.
‘If that vision and mission reaches the standards we hope, you are looking to be present in Europe all the time.
‘At all the clubs which I have worked, we established documents that we called codes of conduct. So those are the rules, this is our philosophy and it is equal for everyone. So we believe it. Are we convinced about it? Yes. So those are our rules and we need to follow the rules.
‘It’s a normal procedure in a group dynamic that they need to interact and have that vision and rules.’
If there’s an element of Caixinha trying to ingratiate himself with the Rangers support through such stunts, then so be it. As the man tasked with stopping a green-and-white juggernaut in its tracks, he needs all the backing he can get.
He needs no one to remind him, though, that feeding the masses such tasty morsels will only get him so far.
Tonight, in the Stade Josy Barthel in Luxembourg City, there would be no quip or gimmick capable of lightening the mood were the unthinkable to happen.
It’s only right Caixinha states that less than half of his summer signings are, as yet, up to speed. The fact the second leg of this first-round Europa League qualifier is arriving in early July also seems faintly ludicrous.
But this is Rangers playing a part-time side that has never won in 13 European matches. Early on in his project or not, there can be only one outcome.
Asked if he trusted his players to get the job done, Caixinha replied: ‘Totally. I’m not worried about scoring the away goal. I’m only worried that the team scores the first goal.
‘The away goal is there, but I want the team to think all the time that the away goal is only important if you win the game. You score first in order to control what’s going on.
‘We know the opponent we are facing is going to try to cause us the same problems, the lower block, trying to close the lines, try to hurt us on set-pieces. That’s what we’re expecting.’
There is respect for lowly Niederkorn, but only so much. Not only does Caixinha expect his side to prevail comfortably, his expectation for the season lies way beyond a likely meeting with AEL Limassol in the next round.
‘We know we need to have some luck with the draws and, in some moments, in the games,’ he said. ‘We need to be realistic and say we can make the group stage, rather than the quarter or semi-finals.
‘The group stage is an ambition, but it’s realistic at the same time. We need to have this vision in order to accomplish this mission.
‘We have the players now that give us the warranty that they are going to perform tomorrow. We want to take the team to a new level with one more competitive game. We want to do things better, to reinforce the positives.’
Six years on from exiting the same competition at the play-off round, a trip to the Grand Duchy in high summer is a reminder that Rangers still have some way to go before old glories are recaptured.
For a club that’s jousted with Barcelona, Manchester United and Inter Milan in recent times, Progres Niederkorn could be looked upon as something of a comedown.
Caixinha believes, though, that eyeballing more illustrious names again is just a matter of time.
‘For sure, we are going to be in Europe all the time from now on,’ he said. ‘So we are trying to get more points for the co-efficient because I’ve studied that and maybe eight years ago things were totally different. The champion was going directly into the Champions League, second was going to the play-offs.
‘Now it’s having a total effect on the holidays, on the preparation and on the level you are facing in these games. So it takes a lot of time. It’s not just from the club. It needs to be from all the Scottish clubs that are involved and especially from the SFA, trying to balance the schedules, trying to know exactly what you want from your teams to be in Europe at a high level.
‘All of European football is used to having at least two competitive Scottish teams.’
Given what has gone before, however, a continental trip of any description is welcome. Caixinha can readily relate to the excitement of those who will make the trip today.
He was assistant manager as Sporting Lisbon reached the UEFA Cup final in 2005 then fulfilled the same role as Panathinaikos lost to Manchester-bound Rangers three years later.
His time in Mexico and Qatar is treasured in many respects, but nothing could provide the satisfaction that a manager gleans from European competitions.
‘Travelling like we have done today reminded me of those early days,’ he recalled. ‘We had our own plane, the journalists are coming with us, people from the corporate side are coming with us, so the organisation is more or less them same.
‘I had the chance to play in Asia with the Saudi Arabia national team. And in Mexico we played in CONMEBOL and also CONCACAF. But playing in Europe is always in your mind.’