THE WORLD ACCORDING TO PEDRO...
MAR 13 At his unveiling: ‘This is the squad we have for now and we really trust the players we have right now. For us, this is the best squad in Scotland. We just need to give them confidence.’ APR 27 Responding to media criticism: ‘When I am not being respected, I’m not going to respect. I’m polite, I’m educated but I’m a f ****** tough guy.’ JUL 2 On his decision to ban his players from wearing green boots: ‘No one will wear boots of that colour because it is the colour of Celtic. The slogan: “We are the People” will be stamped on the walls for both our players and opponents to feel the strength of Rangers.’ JUL 5 After being eliminated from the Europa League by part-timers Progres Niederkorn: ‘I never give up, I believe in this process. It’s a strong moment that we are living in and we need to face it with all our character, personality and strength. That’s what I’m going to do because I believe in the players and the process.’ AUG 18 On the prospect of Celtic earning another £30million Champions League windfall: ‘When I was younger, some of my neighbours had a Porsche. Of course I thought one day I would like to drive a Porsche but I didn’t care they had one and I didn’t. ‘Today I have a Porsche and I can drive a Porsche. Football is about quality, it is about players. If you have more money, supposedly you might get better players but you need to spend it wisely.’ AUG 25 In the wake of a goalless draw at home to Hearts: ‘What I need to tell you, and it’s a Portuguese saying: “The dogs bark and the caravan keeps going”. That means that we are focused in our work. We are all together in the same direction. So we know what direction we are going and the fans are supporting us.’ SEP 22 Caixinha reveals he is compiling a dossier on dodgy decisions: ‘I am going to do like an account list for and against (with referees). Sometimes maybe they have not good decisions in your favour,
other times they give decisions against you. As long as, by the end, when you take the count, there is no deficit.’ SEP 23 On confronting Scott Brown at half-time during a 2-0 home defeat to Celtic: ‘I was angry. I saw an elbow from Brown and I told the fourth official but the referee let it go. ‘Scott Brown was coming off and I told him: “You do that, but if I was on the pitch you wouldn’t”. If I was a player and I had to face Brown or players like him, it would be a different thing. I wouldn’t have allowed him to put his elbow in my face.’ SEP 27 On the subject of dressingroom leaks: ‘Have some of you been to Las Vegas? Yes? Okay, did you tell your wife everything that happened when you left Las Vegas? What happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas; that’s the way it is. But some guys are going and telling everything to their wife. They go against the promise, they go against the sentence. ‘Is the story inaccurate? I don’t know. I don’t know the story. I know what happened in Las Vegas but I know also that what happens in Las Vegas should stay in Las Vegas.’ OCT 20 Explaining his desire to beat Motherwell in the semi-final of the Betfred Cup: ‘The vampires taste the flavour of the blood and they want more, they need it. It’s the same with the competitive teams and clubs, competitive players and competitive managers. They like the way the blood tastes.’ OCT 22 After the 2-0 defeat by Motherwell: ‘Maybe I created a lot of expectation, I am always like that, maybe I created a sort of anxiety. I don’t know why they under-performed. It is up to me.’ OCT 23 Pedro’s U-turn: ‘I told the players: “You’re embarrassing me, you embarrass the club, you embarrass our fans and now it’s time for you to react”.’ OCT 25 Following the 1-1 draw at home to bottom club Kilmarnock: ‘We work for the fans and I’m more disappointed for them because apart from being the Rangers manager, I’m a fan. I’m blue inside.’