Rangers need to prove themselves

Across the piece, Rangers’ away record was poor. There were four losses to Hearts, Celtic and Aberdeen and another two at Dundee and Inverness when Graeme Murty was in interim command.

While Aberdeen lost the same number of away games, they won four more than Rangers, who were held to draws by Kilmarnock — twice — St Johnstone and Ross County. This inability to tough it out on their travels goes some way to explaining the eventual nine-point gap between the Ibrox side and that of Derek McInnes’. Rangers kept only four clean sheets away from home, and Aberdeen’s overall statistics had them nine goals better off in defence and 18 in attack.

In a bid to redress the balance, Caixinha has moved to add weight at both ends of his team. Experienced Mexican striker Eduardo Herrera will try to ease the burden on Kenny Miller, Columbia under-20 international Alfredo Morelos will be another option once he’s up to speed, while Bruno Alves and Fabio Cardoso have already dropped heavy hints about the middle of the Rangers defence becoming a more robust proposition. It should also help to have a proper screen in Ryan Jack and Graham Dorrans.

Like Morelos, 21-year-old Portuguese winger Dalcio is being slowly bedded in, and Caixinha also has high hopes for the box-to-box potential of Carlos Pena. “He’s a great player and is going to show very good things. It’s just a case of him adapting and needing a little more time,” he said. “He is a really offensive player, [one of] those players who easily get in the opponent’s box. He can score goals, he can assist. He can play in all the offensive roles, but especially in the middle of the park.

“He will totally get it that he won’t have the same amount of time and space [in Scotland], because the good players and the clever players anticipate the actions. He just needs to get the right rhythm and the right fitness.” With Daniel Candeias also recruited, and Niko Kranjcar only dealing with a short-term hip injury rather than the cruciate ligament tear of last year, Caixinha is pleased with the number and variety of midfielders at his disposal. The Portuguese could yet return with a third bid for Jamie Walker, but this is now unmistakeably his team, with all the opportunity — and accountability — that entails.

“We totally have options and that makes me very happy, because last season that was something in the middle of the park we were struggling [with],” he says. “When we arrived here, we came to assess. We identified the need and we understand now that the needs are filled.

“When you look at last year’s squad compared to this one, I think we now have more players with anger and good character and [who] offer some toughness when you see it on the field.”

The very qualities that were missing last year in places like Inverness, Dundee and Ayrshire. Caixinha has appointed a four-strong leadership group — Miller, Alves, Kranjcar and Dorrans — to support Lee Wallace, the captain, and expects their contrasting styles to mesh.

“I wanted to spread the leadership, so I identified different types. I learned that from [Luiz Felipe] Scolari when he won the 2002 World Cup.

“The main captain was Cafu, because he was the big leader, but one silent guy can also be a leader because if you give him the ball, he can lead the team.

“We also need a guy shouting on the pitch — someone like Muttley [Dastardly’s sniggering sidekick]. And the guy who is seeing everything on the pitch and organising. With the five guys, I have it all together. For me it’s not important who wears the armband, but Lee will keep it.”

Wes Foderingham has also been told the goalkeeper’s jersey is his to lose, but was feeling more comfortable with Caixinha’s methods even before that chat. Although Foderingham didn’t hit his own 50% shutout target last season, this shortcoming probably said more about those in front of him. The Englishman believes Alves has already made a significant difference.

“As a whole defensive unit, we’ve come on stronger this year and hopefully we can take that into the league campaign. Bruno’s a lot more cool and calm than I thought he’d be. You can see that from his performances and the boys pick up and feed off that.

“I’m sure [last season] was a bit frustrating for him [Caixinha]. He knows the ideas he wants to get across, but it’s difficult when it’s a new group and a lot different to the previous regime. It’s taken a bit of time, but we’re getting there now. There’s a bit more of a smile on his face, and hopefully we can do the same with the fans.”

Amid all the emerging optimism, Foderingham is quick to acknowledge Rangers’ most recent competitive result, that 2-0 defeat by Progres Niederkorn, the fourth-best team in Luxembourg. “One we’re all ashamed of,” he says, noting the stark introduction it gave the new additions. “I think it was a shock to some of the boys, the reaction of the fans.”

Rangers, as a whole, are being more careful to manage expectation than was the case last summer with all that hubristic racket around “Going for 55”.

“I’m not thinking about trophies now,” says Caixinha. “At the end of the season, we will make the count, but for now I’m just focusing game to game. We all know the club we are representing. We all know the expectations people are having. We also know how to deal with and manage those expectations.

“We just need to work hard to get the club in the right position, and the position it deserves.”

Third was what Rangers deserved last year. Come mid-afternoon, we’ll have a better idea of how much change their manager still needs to effect.

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