I’ve still not got a handle on Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha.

Sometimes the Portuguese manager impresses me with certain signings, his approach with the media and his ideas on the training ground.

He arrived in Glasgow and quickly noted things needed to change.

Yet some of his decisions have left me a bit bewildered. His tactical approach in the games against Celtic verged on lunacy.

The latest thing that’s got me questioning the Gers gaffer is his stance when it comes to dealing with winger Barrie McKay.

The twenty-two year old has been one of the club’s best players in the last two years, his performances have earned him international recognition.

Since his arrival, Caixinha doesn’t seem to be as impressed as others with the Scottish international. He left McKay out of the starting line-up in the side’s two defeats to Celtic in April.

The manager has became frustrated with the attacker’s  lack of commitment when it comes to signing a new deal and it seems he has decided to have Barrie train with the under-20s. The player wasn’t part of the squad that faced Luxembourg’s Progres Niederkorn in the Europa League victory last night.

I cannot help but think the decision to banish Barrie McKay is a foolish one and it seems as though Pedro’s just cutting his nose off for no real reason.

It’s all the more strange when you consider that Rangers looked a bit disjointed in the last third against Progres.

In any European tie you should play your best team and I can’t see why Barrie wouldn’t get into that side last night. The objective has to be to qualify for the next round.

McKay was the player that Coleraine’s Eoin Bradley picked as the best player on the pitch during a recent pre-season friendly:

“As for the game I liked the look of McKay as he is just different class and a real footballer.

“You just know Barrie is a quality player and he always had time on the ball and just drifted past players with ease.”

Barrie McKay is a player that gets fans off their seats, he has a direct style that confuses defenders and he’s a footballer that can change games. He knows the club and works his socks off!

Now maybe he wants to leave, maybe he hasn’t been offered a great deal but one thing I do know is that he stood by the club during their  lowest ebb.

In the summer of 2013 he could have left for nothing, he was a player with vast potential. But instead he played for the Ibrox club in the Scottish Third Division. I think the club should remember that.

Now I have no issue if Rangers were to cash in this summer and sell McKay, especially if he wants to leave. I get you don’t want to keep a player if his mind is elsewhere.

I just don’t think you potentially jeopardise your team’s chance in the Europa League by not playing a talented winger who knows what’s need to do well in Govan.

Surely playing under the lights on a European night is an inventive you use to keep a player of McKay’s calibre. You play him in front of a packed crowd and he sees what Europe’s all about. I’d imagine that it’s better than playing in the English Championship.

By banishing him, aren’t you just pushing him out the door?

Posted on June 30th, 2017 by scott
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