Report: Pedro Caixinha angry at Rangers summer signing Graham Dorran

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It appears that the tension is growing at Ibrox in the wake of Rangers’ Old Firm defeat to Celtic on Saturday.

A manager losing the dressing room usually signifies the beginning of the end. And it’s fair to say Pedro Caixinha has not helped himself as the pressure begins to mount on Rangers’ Portuguese head coach.

The manager was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons in Saturday’s Old Firm clash with Celtic, squaring up to visiting captain Scott Brown and, although the outspoken midfielder is far from a favourite among Rangers supporters, there’s a growing feeling that Caixinha is becoming his own worst enemy.

Scotland manager Gordan Strachan even insisted that the confrontation fired up Brown, inspiring him to turn in an impressive display as Celtic cruised to a 2-0 win, as reported by the Scottish Sun.

Tension in the air

Though it’s not just Celtic’s players that Caixinha appears to be rubbing up the wrong way.

According to the Daily Record, the manager launched a stunning attack on Rangers’ home-grown players for failing to make himself, his coaching staff and his raft of imported signings feel welcome at Ibrox.

And it appears that Graham Dorrans (below, right) has suffered the brunt of Caixinha’s frustration, the former Santos Laguna coach rounding on the fans’ favourite for handing veteran striker Kenny Miller the armband when he came on against Celtic – without the permission of his manager.

The report states: “It’s understood Caixinha angrily accused Dorrans of showing him a lack of respect by deciding to give up the captaincy without being instructed to do so by the boss.

“Caixinha’s rant left many of his unsuspecting players gobsmacked and adds to what had already become an uneasy atmosphere between the manager and his team.”

This, Caixinha reportedly believed, signified a lack of respect. Dorrans was desperate to make a dream move to his boyhood club this summer from Norwich City but it’s fair to say the season has not started as he would have hoped.

Now, the tough-talking coach is certainly no stranger to discipline, forcing unwanted trio Rob Kieran, Harry Forrester and Michael O’Halloran into gruelling 6am training sessions before selling them all anyway.

And an increasingly uneasy relationship between players and manager does little to sate the tension at Ibrox.