Rangers boss Caixinha believes his side can put Celtic out of the Scottish Cup
Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha insists his side can shoot down Celtic's treble dream - so long as 11 warriors in blue turn up at Hampden.
Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha insists his side can shoot down Celtic's treble dream - so long as 11 warriors in blue turn up at Hampden.
Gers warmed up for next weekend's William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final showdown with their old rivals by beating Partick Thistle 2-0 at Ibrox.
It was the Light Blues' third win in five games under their new Portuguese boss and their third straight clean sheet.
And now Caixinha reckons his men are ready to face up to Brendan Rodgers' rampant Hoops.
“This team is always ready to beat anyone and Celtic is going to be the next one,” he said. “The history of this team is about this. We need to be ready and prepare for the game.
“The approach to the game is going to be different - it's an Old Firm game, a knock-out game, and I like the strategic side of the game so I'm looking forward to preparing for it.
“I just hope to have 11 warriors starting the game.”
Whether Barrie McKay is in the side which lines up at the National Stadium remains to be seen after the winger was hauled off at half-time.
The Scotland international - this week the subject of reports suggesting he has knocked back a new contract offer - looked anything but in the mood to face Alan Archibald's Thistle outfit.
With his side a goal up after Kenny Miller's 39th-minute header put them ahead, he almost put them in trouble as his loose pass played in Ryan Edwards.
The Australian could not provide a finish but that did not spare McKay, whose side capped off victory in his absence after the break with Jon Toral's 54th-minute strike.
“That's something I need to speak with Barrie McKay about, not with yourself,” said his manager when questioned about the decision.
“I have three substitutions, I think the earliest one I have made in my career was after 20 minutes, sometimes I take decisions.
“There's no rule which says you have to make substitutions in the second half, or at half time or whenever, so if I'm not happy with the way the team is going, I'll change it.”
But despite seeing his side rack-up another shut-out after keeping out both Kilmarnock and Aberdeen, Caixinha admits his team will have to stiffen up at the back if they are to survive his first Old Firm examination.
He explained: “I am not totally happy about is our performance defending. Normally we see the result and we see zero goals in Kilmarnock, zero goals at Aberdeen and zero goals against Partick.
“But I know that we need to improve a lot in defending as a team and not only the back four or the goalkeeper himself.
“It's also true we are not letting the opponent create so many clear chances against us, which is good. But I want more, so I want more collective performances defending and need to keep working on it.”
Jags arrived in Govan hoping to cap off a historic week with their first Ibrox win since 1981.
Thistle followed up clinching top six last weekend by announcing plans for a ÂŁ4million training ground.
But boss Archibald revealed his plans were wrecked by injuries, with key men Kris Doolan and Chris Erskine only fit enough for a place on the bench.
“I'm frustrated by the level of our performance,” he said. “Rangers were good but we made it easy for them.
“Apart from the first 20 minutes when we competed with them, our use of the ball was really poor.
“It showed that only 10 guys had trained during the week. That really hampered out preparations and in the end we looked like strangers when we were in possession.
“We are well aware of the danger of letting the season drift away now that we have achieved top six. We know they are hard fixtures but you can still go and compete.”