Rangers beat Hamilton Academical 4-0 at Ibrox on Saturday afternoon.
New Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha
Rangers hammered Hamilton Academical 4-0 on Saturday afternoon – and pundits Michael Stewart and Steven Thompson have told BBC’s Sportscene how impressed they were with the display.
The Gers were managed by new boss Pedro Caixinha for the first time as they took to the field against Hamilton, less than a week after Caixinha had watched Rangers draw 1-1 with Celtic.
After first half goals from Emerson Hyndman and Clint Hill, Martyn Waghorn tucked home a second half penalty, and Lee Wallace rounded off the win with a fine run and finish down the left, handing Rangers a 4-0 win over the Accies.
It was the perfect start to life at Ibrox for new manager Caixinha, who completed his move from Qatari club Al-Gharafa earlier this month as he replaces Mark Warburton in the Ibrox hot seat.
Caixinha has barely had time to get settled into life in Glasgow, but his team turned in an outstanding display against Hamilton, featuring early differences from Warburton’s Rangers side.
Whereas Rangers were patient, arguably slow in their build-up under Warburton, they were more direct against Hamilton, suggesting that Caixinha may well look to go forward at a much greater pace than his predecessor.
After the game, pundit Steven Thompson told BBC’s Sportscene that he was impressed with how Rangers played against Hamilton, as they were direct and aggressive going forward, with the ‘constant desire to attack’ highlighted as the biggest early difference between Caixinha and Warburton.
Former Rangers striker Steven Thompson
Fellow pundit Michael Stewart added that Caixinha has made a ‘huge difference’ in a short space of time, claiming there are plenty of positives for Rangers fans to take from the Portuguese manager’s first game in charge.
“It was impressive,” said Thompson. “Rangers – under Warburton – were often criticised for being laboured and predictable in their build-up, but here Rangers were direct, getting forward quickly with a long ball and a flick on. The thing that really impressed me was when they won the ball back, their first instinct was ‘can we go and attack again?’. I think that’s probably been the one thing, for me looking on, that Caixinha has brought in this week – the constant desire to go and attack. I do think Rangers fans will be entertained.”
“It’s a short period of time that Pedro Caixinha has been in, but look at that – that’s a huge difference in such a short period of time. It was against a Hamilton side who have shipped so many goals of late, and are struggling, but from a Rangers perspective, there are still a lot of positives there,” added Stewart.
What did you think of Rangers’ display against Hamilton?
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
