Rangers have seen enough and the Ibrox club have decided to sack manager Pedro Caixinha.

The Portuguese boss had only been in charge for seven months and while some progress had been made, too many negatives started to appear for Caixinha.

#RangersFC announce today that Pedro Caixinha has left the Club: https://t.co/gMUCGAZonI pic.twitter.com/vrHiKYeyT9

— Rangers FC (@RangersFC) October 26, 2017

Pedro never saw his side win three games in a row, his mind games in the press against fellow managers often backfired and Caixinha’s results in the big games simply weren’t good enough.

The forty-six year old didn’t seem to have the full backing of his squad and some of his transfers raised a few eye-brows too. When things got heated on the touchline, Pedro would often lose his discipline and he was no good to his side in the stands.

His bullish attitude didn’t translate on the pitch and often against rivals Celtic, Rangers under Pedro looked limp and weak.

Rangers have dropped too many points at home this season in the Scottish Premiership, they lost the fight at Hampden to Motherwell on Sunday in the League Cup semi-final and in the summer the Gers were humiliated in Europe as they lost out to Luxembourg side Progres Niederkorn.

Now that the Gers board have decided to get rid of the manager, they need to make a sensible decision when thinking about his replacement.

Bringing in Caixinha was always a big gamble. The Portuguese man had never managed a big club in Europe, so his pedigree was always in question.

I think it would be best for Rangers to bring in an old face to take the team forward on for the rest of the season. For me, that man has to be Alex McLeish.

The former Gers boss knows the club inside out and the squad need to have a gaffer in that knows what it takes to achieve success in Scotland’s top flight. McLeish will come in having already won two league titles and four domestic cup competitions.

Talking before Pedro Caixinha got the Gers job earlier in the year, McLeish said this about a possible return:

“I am a Rangers man, you have to keep that in consideration, and when you get asked to come to club like this, it is a hard decision to turn that down.

When Big Eck arrived at Ibrox in 2001, the club were on a serious downer. Old Firm foes Celtic had their best manager since Jock Stein, in Martin O’Neill managing the Hoops. But McLeish managed to get his side to challenging again.

The gap is bigger at the moment but McLeish at least has a history of closing that gap. He also managed to do that on a budget, so he can deal with that pressure too.

I’m not saying give Alex’s a three year deal, just give him to till the end of the season and get him in to steady the ship. If he can then overtake Aberdeen and close the gap on Celtic, then talk about keeping him. All the while you can still look at other potential long term candidates.

People will mention Sam Allardyce, Alan Pardew and Frank de Boer but can they revitalise the club?

Big Sam hasn’t proven himself as a winner at a big club. A very good fire fighter and would no doubt get results. He also has the contacts to bring in good additions but does he have the heart to return to club management?

Pardew is an ok boss but is he someone that will excite the fans and get what Rangers are all about? I just can’t see it.

As for Frank de Boer, look at the issues he had at Crystal Palace. Rangers aren’t in a position for a free flowing football manager to walk in full of philosophies, they need a pragmatic boss who demands wins more than anything else.

Tommy Wright at St Johnstone deserves a mention but I wonder if the Glasgow giants will make a move for someone already in a job.

Hopefully director of football Mark Allen can help the hierarchy in their recruitment process and that they realise that they need experience and someone who knows how the club works.

I think you bring back Big Eck and have someone in the dressing room that has been there and done it all before.

 

Posted on October 26th, 2017 by scott
Filed under: Article