Pedro Caixinha praises debutant Dorrans- but has warning for fellow midfielder Josh Windass
Manager praises midfield duo, but says Windass needs to work on his defending
Pedro Caixinha paid tribute to Graham Dorrans after his debut double got Rangers' season up and running.
But the Ibrox boss warned his team-mate Josh Windass to buck up his ideas when it comes to defending after his error almost cost them dear at Fir Park.
Boyhood Gers fan Dorrans made the dream start to his Light Blues career as his brace sealed a 2-1 victory over Motherwell on the Ladbrokes Premiership opening weekend.
“I am really happy for him,” said his new boss. “At 29 years old he is playing for his lifetime club.
“He is really a Rangers supporter and is really passionate about the club, so I'm really happy that his debut could give us the two goals that lead us to take three points back home.”
It was a victory which eased the pressure on Caixinha after last month's Europe League humiliation against Progres Niederkorn.
There were plenty of plus points for the Portuguese boss to take from the game, including the display of his other debutant Bruno Alves and Windass' lively forays down the left.
But Caixinha says the former Accrington Stanley playmaker - who hit the woodwork twice during a thrilling first-half battle - must realise his work does not only involve going forward.
Caixinha said: “Normally people only see the game on the brighter side. Did you see who didn't get on the wall when we conceded the equaliser?
“Did you see who lost the ball in the second half and we almost got caught on transition?
“Josh is a player who needs to have more confidence - and they all have that - but he needs to learn with the process.
“It is not only about the bright things. You have to be switched on all the time.”
Dorrans swept Gers ahead in the fourth minute after Alves' cross was headed down by Kenny Miller.
But Ben Heneghan levelled up for Well five minutes before the break when Windass allowed Tanner to swing in from the right.
However, Gers regained control after the break and clinched the points when Louis Moult conceded a penalty after barging an elbow into Fabio Cardoso, setting Dorrans up to net again from the spot.
“Winning was the only goal coming here and the boys did it so I need to be happy with that,” added Caixinha. “Now we have just 37 more finals.
“It's about winning. We need to focus on the result.
“Sometimes we need to be humble and understand what the game needs for us to get the result and that's what we did. I'm focusing on the key areas we need to improve.”
Well felt they should have had a first-half penalty when the ball appeared to strike Lee Hodson's hand, and boss Steven Robinson was left frustrated that his side ended the game empty handed.
He said: “If you don't take your chances you don't win football matches and we created a lot of clear-cut chances. Ryan Bowman and Alex Fisher had two chances they would put away in their sleep. You will get punished by top teams.
“We dominated large parts of the game. Once the lads settled in and got a bit of belief, we took the game to them. We potentially could have had a penalty ourselves and we've lost goals from two set-plays.
“I haven't seen their penalty again. I was far away from it. Louis said it wasn't a penalty, that he went to challenge for the ball and the lad's gone down, but we should have taken care of the game ourselves - without blaming anyone else.