Rangers suffered defeat to Celtic at the weekend but should take the positives.
New Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha
Rangers were comfortably beaten by Celtic at the weekend in a one sided Scottish Cup semi final.
It was a miserable day out for Gers fans who had wanted to put one over on their rivals after four previous attempts without a victory this season.
It was Pedro Caixinha’s first game in charge of Rangers against Celtic, and he should take defeat as a positive despite the disappointment.
This season Celtic are a better team than Rangers. That is a fact, it is undisputable at this point.
Now Caixinha has been able to witness it first hand and see just how far behind his players are.
Rangers’ Emerson Hyndman in action with Celtic’s Stuart Armstrong
Last season Mark Warburton was lulled into believing his Rangers team were at the same standard as Celtic, as the Gers matched Ronny Deila’s team and beat them on penalties in the cup semi final.
This led to Rangers making more subtle moves in the transfer market in the summer, signing veterans and unproven youngsters, believing it would be enough to get them on par with Celtic.
While Celtic’s dramatic improvement under Brendan Rodgers could not have been foreseen on the scale it has, Rangers’ win last season had the coaching staff feeling as though they were nearly there.
Former Rangers manager Mark Warburton
This season Celtic have shown Rangers how far behind they are, and Mark Warburton lost his job.
A win for Pedro Caixinha’s Rangers at the weekend – on a neutral playing field – could have lulled him into a false sense of security regarding the talent of his players, and influenced his decisions in the summer in a way which would be detrimental to the team next season.
Now Caixinha has witnessed his team being well beaten by their rivals, and has all the excuses in the world to rip it up and make major changes – which is exactly what Rangers need.
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