Ibrox sold out for Caixinha’s first game against Hamilton
Rangers will play in front of yet another sold out Ibrox crowd tomorrow as Pedro Caixinha takes charge for the first time.
Hamilton Accies are the visitors, just two weeks after their 6-0 hammering in the Scottish Cup on the same ground.
The new manager showed his attention to detail this week. Not only through the club’s videos of training sessions but his knowledge of the opposition too. His Thursday press conference featured a lengthy answer all about what to expect from the Accies this weekend.
YouTube: PRESS CONFERENCE | Pedro Caixinha | 16 Mar 2017
Caixinha has impressed with his words in both pressers this week. He also looks very comfortable in the job and unfazed about the questions being asked of him already.
He has brought in his own staff, and Rangers have lost goalkeeping coach Jim Stewart in the process. However, the new manager is giving himself a better chance of succeeding by having his own men with him.
Twitter: RT @liamm_kelly: Cheers for everything J #thebest https://t.co/FPtQ9gmO2Z (@RangersFC)
Following the morale boosting performance at Celtic Park, Rangers will be looking to give Pedro his first win against Hamilton. Jordan Rossiter and Niko Kranjcar remain on the sidelines but Joe Garner returns from suspension.
It will be interesting to see what style Caixinha tries to implement on the current team. The vast majority of the squad was signed by Mark Warburton with the intention of fitting in to his 4-3-3 system. Graeme Murty showed last Sunday that a 4-4-2 can work with the current squad when coached well. The new manager will have his own ways and will hope the players can adapt to him from Warburton, like they did with Murty.
Caixinha is due to assess his candidates for a ‘local’ assistant in the coming days. It is a wise move for the Portuguese coach who is now working abroad for the third time as manager. Having an assistant who knows the club and its surroundings can only speed up the settling in process.
Rangers fans will once again fill Ibrox this weekend to welcome the man tasked with ‘closing the gap’. The Caixinha era can’t be anything other than intriguing.