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Is Pedro Caixinha’s transfer activity at Rangers going to pay dividends next season?
From the moment Pedro Caixinha set foot in Ibrox stadium, he has been determined to turn Rangers around, making them into a stronger, fitter team that can compete with their rivals at the higher end of the Scottish Premier League table.
Bringing in the Portuguese coach as Rangers’ new manager back in March was a huge gamble, but the board decided to roll the dice and go for the unknown after a miserable season.
Caixinha knew what was being asked from him when he arrived, but he since said that, although the club have a great structure, the lack of quality at Ibrox still shocked him. He told the :
“When you reach the level of a big team like Rangers, when you make any sort of changes, the knowledge of the footballer you are adding to the game should be like this (snaps finger).
“That’s the main difference that I was supposed to get here or find here and I didn’t really find it.”
But Caixinha is now certain that Rangers can be a credible challenge to rival team Celtic for the title next season.
Despite trailing by a 36-point margin this term, the 46-year-old was bullish in his belief that his side will compete with this year’s runaway champions if his summer recruitment goes to plan.
The Gers back-to-back humiliations against the Hoops have only served to reinforce his belief that many of the current cast of players don’t deserve to stay under his charge and revamping Rangers is the best option. He told the :
“We’re doing the things in order to get the core of the players playing that I presented and we have been doing things for almost the past month.
“We’re discussing what’s happening on a daily basis with regard to the future. It’s about bringing in players at international level, with international experience.”
The revamp of his squad is already well underway, already Caixinha has had a busy summer, bringing former Aberdeen skipper Ryan Jack, Bruno Alves, Daniel Candeias, Fabio Cardoso and Dalcio to Govan.
Mexican pair and Colombian striker on when work permits and visas are confirmed, and the Gers are expected to return with improved offers for Hearts attacker Jamie Walker, according to the , and Norwich City’s Graham Dorrans, as per the .
However, is Caixinha doing the right thing for Rangers by signing so many players, or should he be looking at quality over quantity?
The Rangers boss has £10 million to spend to revamp his team, and although it’s great that he is bringing in numbers, Rangers will need high quality players with an improved skill set if they want to challenge teams like Celtic and Aberdeen.
Celtic have some top-class players and Brendan Rodgers will be sure to see that they strengthen, which will make it harder for teams below them to get near.
Not to forget that Aberdeen performed admirably in the two major finals in which they reached, and they will also be looking to improve over summer.
So with the £10 million, instead of buying seven or eight players, maybe Caixinha should have bought two or three, who would have improved the first team, no questions asked.
Rangers will undoubtedly be stronger next season, but whether that is enough to finish second above Aberdeen is going to be the real challenge – only nine points split the two teams this time around.
To be fair to Caixinha he’s having a go; he is brining in players and squeezing as much from the club’s budget in order to try and improve Rangers over summer, but whether or not they will be good enough in terms of quality will be the real question.