Caixinha facing a battle for survival amid Ibrox infighting
Taking on Miller is a high-risk strategy for Ibrox boss
AS Pedro Caixinha spluttered his way through the post-match formalities on Friday night, the Rangers manager looked in need of a rest day spent in his bed and to drain the sickness from his system. After suffering from this bug, the extent to which he re-emerges possessing an appetite to flush out elements he feels are against his will in the Ibrox squad is going to be a fascinating and potentially explosive watch in the weeks ahead.
The foreign bodies infused at the club, he claimed in a frank address to players last week, have not been afforded an appropriate welcome by stalwarts within the Rangers ranks.
One such veteran of the club, Kenny Miller, was singled out in the wake of that meeting and axed from the first team set-up for Hamilton, Lanarkshire, and Hamilton, Ontario.
Rangers were due to travel to play Benfica for the Eusebio Cup in Canada. However, last night that trip was cancelled.
The bust-up will linger over the international break, unless the matter is somehow swiftly resolved.
Caixinha will have the backing of the club — for now — and it cannot be underestimated how important establishing that platform on Friday night might prove for the Portuguese boss.
But taking on the club’s current Player of the Year and hugely respected veteran, for whom just about every former manager and coach would have kind words to say, is a high-risk strategy while huge doubts linger over a whole host of his signings.
Results will dictate the power with which Caixinha is able to flex his managerial muscles to barge aside the barriers he believes exist to enjoying a full buy-in for his philosophies amid a period of colossal change at the club.
For had Hamilton built on that stunning 56-second lead handed to them by Danny Redmond, following a weak piece of defending from Fabio Cardoso — one of Caixinha’s flagship signings — the spotlight would swiftly have swivelled back from the missing Miller and, without mercy, at the manager.
The return to domestic duty after the international break takes Rangers to St Johnstone on a Friday night before a Betfred Cup semifinal with improving Motherwell. A setback in either contest while Celtic go for a double Treble and Aberdeen match strides with them at the top of the table will place further questions over the perceived progress of Rangers under Caixinha and the wisdom of his summer signing policy. For now, he can be thankful that the expensive Carlos Pena didn’t join Ryan Jack in seeing red, that Hamilton fielded a goalkeeper in Darren Jamieson who was playing his first top-flight match and for a Mark Allen recruit, Declan John, scoring with either foot in a four-minute first-half spell to turn the game on its head.
So that paved the way for Daniel Candeias, Caixinha’s countryman, to lead a celebratory charge towards the manager after the third goal. This image was some result for Caixinha compared to Kris Boyd raising six fingers in the air at Fir Park a decade ago to declare support for the jersey of ostracised Barry Ferguson.
When Paul le Guen unsuccessfully challenged Ferguson, there existed a solid core of Scots. Right now at Rangers, Lee Wallace missed much of Caixinha’s assessment period last spring with injury and is due to sit out the next two months, while Miller has been dropped and ordered to accompany Graeme Murty and the Under-20s to play Brentford this afternoon.
That leaves only two new boys, Jack and Graham Dorrans, as Scots to help guide a yet-to-gel Rangers dressing room through into winter. And the latter has already felt the fury of Caixinha for handing the captain’s armband to Miller when the 38-year-old was brought on as a substitute against Celtic.
The axe for Miller left Wes Foderingham, a Mark Warburton signing, as the longest-serving Rangers player in the starting line-up at Hamilton, a sign of times of great upheaval at managerial and playing levels.
‘I joined the week before Tav (James Tavernier), so that would be right,’ said Foderingham. ‘There’s been a high turnaround of players, with the management changing too. It’s part of football and we adjust.
‘Continuity is important but it’s not the be-all and end-all. There was a big turnaround of players the season before too. That continuity
I think that we gave what the manager was looking for. Through the season, continuity will come
will come throughout the season. Once the team has settled, you’ll probably see a familiar line-up.
‘I was delighted to sign a new contract last week (until 2020) as it’s a great club. I’ve had good times here and, hopefully, there will be more in the future as well.’
Miller was handed a new one-year deal by Caixinha towards the end of last season and will have no desire to see his Rangers career — of which there are three parts — end in this fashion. The assertion that he was involved in the leaking of information about the dressing room row last week will rankle with him as he tries to get his head around being cast aside.
His renowned mental toughness, for a man who crossed the Old Firm divide twice, will doubtless be required to come to the fore if there is no thaw in relations from Caixinha. His professionalism will not dip as he helps out Murty with the development squad.
That’s a squad now without Ross McCrorie, the 19-year-old who impressed when dropped in at the deep end against Celtic, with Bruno Alves missing. On Friday, McCrorie was thankful for Rakish Bingham’s penalty being saved by Foderingham.
‘That’s probably the only mistake he’s made and luckily for Ross I saved it,’ said Foderingham. ‘He said thanks in the dressing room.
‘I think what we gave was what the manager was looking for. We started poorly but after that we rallied and scored three in quick succession. It was comfortable in the end.’