PEDRO Caixinha watched the closing stages of his Rangers side’s Betfred Cup semi-final defeat to Motherwell yesterday afternoon high in the Hampden main stand just behind his errant striker Kenny Miller.
It is unclear today which of them will last longer at Ibrox in the wake of the latest disappointing result of the Portuguese coach’s tumultuous seven month reign.
Dave King, the chairman and major shareholder who made a rare appearance at a game, appreciates there is only so much he can expect from Caixinha despite the significant funds he made available to him to strengthen his squad in the summer.
Read more: Tam McManus: Going all-in on Caixinha at Rangers hasn’t paid off for Dave King
Challenging Celtic, who have a far superior squad and greater finances as a result of years of off-field stability and European involvement, for the Ladbrokes Premiership is not a reasonable expectation.
Yet, overcoming an opposing team which was put together on a fraction of the budget and reaching the final of this cup competition most certainly was.
King will have seen little evidence that his money – and the Glasgow outfit’s net spend during the close season totalled £10 million, significantly more than any other club, including that of their city rivals, in the top flight – has been well spent.
This was a chance for Caixinha to rack up three wins in a row for the first time since taking charge back in March and he failed to take it. That is a dismal track record for somebody in his position.
Should his side fail to overcome a Kilmarnock side buoyed by the arrival of Steve Clarke as manager at Ibrox on Wednesday evening or be unable to register a victory against Hearts away at Murrayfield on Saturday then he may not survive.
Few Rangers fans, who made up the vast majority of the 44,506 crowd at the national stadium yesterday, would shed a tear if the services of a man who was a decidedly leftfield appointment back in March were dispensed with in the wake of this latest failure.
Caixinha, who was ordered off along with his opposite number Stephen Robinson midway through the second half for complaining about a decision, could certainly be forgiven for being upset with the handling of the semi-final by referee Steven McLean.
The match official failed to discipline Ryan Bowman for a questionable challenge on Fabio Cardoso which led to the centre half suffering a broken nose and being forced to leave the field.
The forward had already been yellow carded for an almost identical incident involving the same player early in the first half and would have been red carded had McLean, as he probably should, taken action.
Earlier, Charles Dunne also escaped punishment after bundling over Alfredo Morelos when the Rangers forward was poised to burst through on the Motherwell goal. If the defender had been ordered off he could have had few complaints.
It will have been galling for Caixinha when Dunne set up Louis Moult for his side’s second goal with a long punt upfield in the 74th minute.
Still, Motherwell richly deserved what was a comfortable victory. Rangers were both outthought and outfought by a far better team during the course of 90 incident-packed minutes which were a terrific advertisement for the Scottish game.
Robinson has a side of committed and robust players who are unafraid to embrace the physical aspect of the game. But it is unfair to dismiss them as simply well-organised and hard-working.
Certainly, in Louis Moult, who scored twice in the second half, they have a special talent. His second strike, a lob over Jak Alnwick from over 20 yards out in the 74th minute, was just sublime.
The Fir Park board, who rejected a bid of £350,000 from Aberdeen for Moult in the summer, have been rewarded and then some for their refusal to cash in on their prized asset.
Trevor Carson in the Motherwell goal saved well from Josh Windass in both the first and second halves and also brilliantly held an Alfredo Morelos header near the end. Morelos, Declan John and Bruno Alves also went close. But at no stage did Carson look like being beaten. He was protected well Dunne, Peter Hartley and Cedric Kipre in front of him.
Read more: Tam McManus: Going all-in on Caixinha at Rangers hasn’t paid off for Dave King
The same was not true of his opposite number Alnwick. The Englishman was fortunate that Ryan Jack was positioned behind him on the goal line after he failed to block a Cedric Kipre shot at a Chris Cadden corner shortly before half-time.
Caixinha has been irked by persistent questioning about Miller’s situation and whether the player, who has not been involved since being disciplined and dropped in the wake of the defeat to Celtic last month, will feature under him gagain going forward.
This game, though, was crying out for a player with the 37-year-old’s intelligence, experience and industry. He certainly would have offered far more than Carlos Pena. The £2.2 million signing was once again utterly anonymous and completely ineffective during the hour which he spent on the park.
Moult foolishly kicked out at Alves after the Rangers centre half had kicked out at him as they both lay on the ground with just a few minutes of regulation time remaining.
Robinson must have been concerned his match winner was going to get himself ruled out of the final against Celtic next month and will have breathed a sigh of relief when he was only booked by McLean for his moment of madness.
Pedro Caixinha should fear getting the boot at Rangers after this dire defeat.
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