Holt says Rangers have proved they are united under Caixinha

Jason Holt believes Rangers have silenced those who question the unity of the Ibrox squad.

Jason Holt
Published 6th Oct 2017

The build-up to last week's clash with Hamilton was dominated by rumours of a dressing room split following their defeat to Celtic.

Kenny Miller was banished from Pedro Caixinha's first-team squad amid reports the manager had blamed the striker for leaking news of an angry post-Old Firm team meeting.

And the off-field drama appeared to be affecting Gers' focus as they kicked-off against Accies, with the hosts taking the lead at the SuperSeal Stadium in the first minute.

But the Light Blues recovered to win 4-1, with the Rangers players making their support for Caixinha clear as they swarmed round the under-pressure manager while celebrating Daniel Candeias' strike.

Now Holt says claims of cliques inside the Gers squad are wide of the mark.

Speaking to RangersTV, he said: "I always think of myself as the type of guy who would be welcoming everyone who comes in the door. I always do that with the new boys who come in.

"There are maybe three or four of us who have been here longer than others, but we are altogether now and we have a good team spirit.

"The Hamilton win shows good signs. From the outside, people were saying it had been a difficult week for us, but we had to go and do our job, and go down to Hamilton and get the three points.

"That's exactly what we did and I thought it was a really professional performance after not getting off to a great start.

"The character we showed to go on and win the game 4-1 was great.''

Caixinha added 11 new faces to his squad over the summer but youngsters like Ross McCrorie and Jamie Barjonas have also been introduced to the first-team group in recent monthsAnd midfielder Holt has been encouraged with McCrorie since he was thrown into the starting line-up against Celtic.

"I've been really impressed with all the boys in the under-20s who have come up to train with us," he said. "They are training with us on a more regular basis, and as you saw, Ross McCrorie got his chance and did really well.

"I was delighted for him as he deserved it, and all the boys who have come up have done really well.

"There are going to be opportunities through the season where people drop out the team, and someone needs to step up and take that opportunity.

"Ross did that, and I think it shows the rest of the younger lads and the under-20s, there's an opportunity there.