PEDRO Caixinha last night revealed that his ultimate ambition is to bring a European trophy to Ibrox after being officially unveiled as the new Rangers manager.
The 46-year-old from Portugal, who has signed a three year contract, has admitted that he will need to be given time to turn around the fortunes of the Glasgow club and was "not a magician".
However, the former Uniao Leiria, Nacional, Santos Laguna and Al-Gharafa manager, a surprise choice to succeed Mark Warburton, stressed that he has set his sights high in his new role.
He refused to rule out beating Celtic to the Ladbrokes Premiership title next season - and admitted that he was determined to triumph in a continental competition in the future.
Asked what his objective at Rangers is, Caixinha said: “To make this club even bigger than it is. To try and achieve something that maybe we haven’t achieved.
“We are talking about trophies. We are talking about European trophies. It will take time, for sure, but at this level you need to set goals up high. If you set them low it’s not enough.
“They need to be realistic at the same time. It’s going to take time to arrive there, but it’s important to know you are following those goals. At this time, I agree, it’s not realistic. But we need to set targets which are realistic and ambitious at the same time.
“This is for sure the biggest club in Scotland. I want to help them come back in this situation and go from there. It will take time. I’m not a magician, I’m a football coach. I need to implement things and maybe to work more than in a normal situation. But I have no problem with that because I love my work and I’m passionate about it.
“I cannot promise that things are going to change like that. But I can promise you that the gap is going to be reduced.”
Rangers are currently 33 points behind Celtic, who could win their sixth consecutive league title this weekend, in the top flight league table, but Caixinha stated that they would try to beat their city rivals to the Premiership trophy in the 2017/18 campaign.
“We hope to do it,” he said. “Scottish football needs a strong Rangers. And a strong Rangers is only one that is fighting for titles. So that’s what we will try and do. It will take time. I hope it’s going to be next season, but only time will tell.”
Caixinha, who is set to appoint a Scottish coach to his back room team in the coming days, acknowledged that his appointment ahead of the likes of Billy Davies, Derek McInnes, Alex McLeish and Gary Rowett had stunned and even disappointed many Rangers supporters.
However, the former Sporting Lisbon, Panathinaikos and Rapid Bucharest assistant is comfortable with the reaction which there has been to his arrival. “I faced the same situation when I went to Mexico,” he said. “I would just say one thing – at least give us the benefit of the doubt. Let us work.
“Then they can evaluate our work. We are exposed to it, not just here but all the football coaches in the world, they’re all in this situation. It’s even bigger here because we’re at Rangers.”
Caixinha, who admitted he had not yet spoken to chairman and major shareholder Dave King, anticipates he will have no difficulty dealing with the intense Celtic-Rangers rivalry after watching the Old Firm game from the main stand at Parkhead on Sunday. “For me that is perfect,” he said. “It is totally different (to Qatar), more similar to Mexico.”
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