Pedro Caixinha says Rangers are the biggest club in Scotland
Monday 13 March 2017 17:27, UK
Pedro Caixinha has dismissed concerns over his lack of coaching experience in Britain and says he is joining the biggest club in Scotland at Rangers.
The Portuguese was confirmed as the new Rangers boss on Saturday and watched from the stands at Parkhead as the Gers earned a 1-1 draw in the Old Firm clash on Sunday.
Some have questioned the decision to appoint the 46-year-old, who takes over from Mark Warburton, but, after his stints as a manager in Portugal, Mexico and Qatar, he says he has adapted to working abroad.
Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson was on hand to present Caixinha to the Scottish media in his first news conference on Monday, and the Ibrox side's 16th manager said he is intent on gaining more insight into the club and Scottish football.
"I think I give you two numbers [why Rangers are the biggest club in Scotland]- 144 years old and 54 league titles; that is more than enough," he said.
"I am already adapted to it; I'm a world citizen. I did it, for example, in Mexico. When I arrived there I hadn't been there, I didn't know anything about Torreón, I didn't know anything about Santos Laguna, I didn't know anything about Santos Laguna players, the Mexican competitions.
"What I propose to do from now is to know the club in deeper conditions, from top to bottom, to know deeply the players because they are the main actors of this game and to know the competition.
"I am here to work. I need to know the opponents for sure, I cannot know all the opponents all at the same time, so now we are focused on our team, respecting the next opponents which are going to be Hamilton.
"We have watched some matches from them. We are preparing everything and we keep going like this so I need to move around the stadiums to know everything and we need to reach it step by step."
Caixinha, who takes over with Rangers third in the Scottish Premiership and eight points behind second-placed Aberdeen, also said he thinks the current squad can improve but wants to give them the confidence that they can be the best group of players in Scotland.
"When I work with one team, for me, the players that complete that squad are always the best ones," he said. "So this is the beginning of the process. I do believe that the players can have a better version than they are having at the moment.
"We need to work on it, we need to know each other, but I do believe these players can do good things until the end of the season. The assessment from now until the end of the season will be another step but we will have time to do it.
"For us this is the best squad in Scotland so we are going to work with the best squad in Scotland - we just need to give them that confidence. It is a huge difference for you to watch the games on video or in the stands and work with the players on a regular basis.
"I already met some of the players this morning. It was a good impression in the first moment but we need to establish this relation with them. I am a guy about relations. I do believe relations can make the difference and that is what we are going to do from the beginning, starting tomorrow."
