Opinion

Scottish football doesn’t have many star personalities to draw in a crowd. What they did have was a star football manager coaching in their league. A man whose tactical prowess can only be surpassed by Craig Leveins’ 4-6-0 tactic against the Czech Republic, a style so impeccable it makes Andrea Pirlo look like a hobo. Scottish girls want to be with him and Brendan Rodgers want to be him, I’m of course talking about the man, the myth, the legend… Pedro Caixinha.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I woke up on a cold Thursday morning to the news that the gift that keeps on giving has been fired by Rangers. Pedro only managed 229 magical days at the club before being given the boot. He arrived back in March on a three-year deal with the main aim of knocking Celtic of their seemingly untouchable perch. Since then the international man of mystery has gone on to break some impressive records. He gave Celtic their biggest ever away victory in the Old Firm, he also allowed Aberdeen to get their first win at the Ibrox in over 26 years, last but not least his European journey was the quickest of any Rangers manager. It ended in the first qualifying round of the Europa League when they lost 2-1 on aggregate to FC Progres Niederkorn. Who are they you’re asking? I have absolutely no idea, but they ‘Proges’ to the next round (sorry not sorry for the pun).

Let’s play a game, to prove Caixinhas managerial excellence I’m going to put him up against his Portuguese counterpart, the ‘special one’, Jose Mourinho. Below are three quotes, two of them are by the phenom Caixinha and the other is from Mourinho. Correctly guess the two said by Caixinha and you’ll most likely be in the running to be the next manager of Rangers (you’ll also earn my respect).

1. “What I need to tell you, and it’s a Portuguese saying, ‘the dogs bark and the caravan keeps going’. That means that we are focused in our work. We are all together in the same direction.”

2. “They are eggs that need a mum or, in this case, a dad to take care of them, to keep them warm during the winter, to bring the blanket and work and improve them. One day the moment will arrive when the weather changes, the sun rises, you break the eggs and the eggs are ready to go for life at the top level”.

3. “The vampires taste the flavour of the blood and they want more, they need it. It’s the same with the competitive teams and clubs, competitive players and competitive managers. They like the way the blood tastes.”

I know, they are some pretty heavy philosophies about life, hic hive put on display, from blood drinking to egg farming. It just puts everything into perspective. Anyway… the answers. Caixinha obviously said one and three. Give yourself a big pat on the back if you got that right. Respect.

So, What’s next for Rangers Football Club? I guess they haven’t changed their chairman in a while. I’ve heard they decide who it’s going to be by the sacred ritual of musical chairs, with whoever ends up at the head of the table becomes the chairman. Don’t believe me? Watch it for yourself.

All in all, what a rollercoaster of emotions these last 229 days have been. It’ll be sad to see you go Pedro but you know what they say. If you love something… let it go.