New boss Pedro Caixinha will '˜not change' Rangers culture

New Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha celebrates his side scoring in their 4-0 win over Hamilton. Picture: SNS

Pedro Caixinha insists there will be no culture clash at Rangers as he sets about implementing his new Ibrox vision.

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The recently-appointed Light Blues boss has spent his first three weeks in charge putting his players through a crash course on his tactical philosophy.

The international break gave the Portuguese coach extra time to get his ideas across and he has also taken the bold step of axing the players’ Wednesday off.

But while he admits the transition period has been tough for his players, Caixinha believes his messages are quickly sinking in.

He said ahead of Saturday’s match against Motherwell: “It’s been fantastic. The first step is to convince the players. I believe everything is easier when you convince the players and they really believe in the process.

“That’s what we have been looking at since the first day we arrived.

“Normally as human beings when something changes in our (routine), the first thing you do is take one step back because we are animals of habit.

“We are used to doing one thing or another and when someone comes along and changes it, there will be questions.

“I need to understand and respect that. It’s normal to go that way. But changing (the working) pattern is not changing the football culture.

“No-one should think about changing the football culture of Rangers. I mean, there is 144 years of history, the titles and the fans - that’s what represents the passion in this club.

“You need to keep it like this - but you can add to it.

“I’m not a guy who is going to change all this but I am going to change the patterns of the stimulations that we want the players to receive and to make the adaptations to make sure they are ready to perform the way we want them to play.”

The Rangers support got an insight into how their new boss wants his team to play earlier this month when his side hounded hapless Hamilton on their way to a 4-0 win.

There was a distinct increase in tempo from the ponderous manner which blighted Mark Warburton’s final months in charge.

But Caixinha reckons the blueprint left behind by his predecessor can be easily adapted to fit his own game plan.

“It was a good starting point to make the assessment,” he said. “Different styles of play need different stimulations.

“Mark had one style of play. We see things a little bit different. So that means changing the style, changing the stimulations and changing the adaptations.

“Some adaptations take more time than others but our players are getting used to the pattern we have spoken about from the very beginning.

“It’s very interesting the way they are coping with it.

“Has it been easy? No, because we are changing things but we don’t want to change the deep culture of the club - just the philosophy around one style of play.”