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The question is his rhythm… Caixinha hails Declan John, but claims Rangers must take care of him

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Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha is seen prior to the Betfred League Cup Quarter Final at Firhill Stadium on September 19, 2017 in Glasgow, Scotland....
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Rangers beat Hamilton Academical 4-1 on Friday night.

Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha is seen prior to the Betfred League Cup Quarter Final at Firhill Stadium on September 19, 2017 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha has told BBC Sport that he thinks Declan John is ‘a great player’ – but the Gers must now take care of him.

Rangers travelled to New Douglas Park on Friday night to take on Hamilton Academical, and the pressure looked to be mounting on Caixinha after Daniel Redmond’s first-minute opener.

New signing Declan John equalised 20 minutes later though, cutting in from the left to drive a right footed strike into the corner of the net, and he grabbed another goal with a driving run and finish from a narrow angle.

Declan John of Cardiff in action  during the Sky Bet Championship match between Cardiff City and Blackburn Rovers at Cardiff City Stadium on August 17, 2016 in Cardiff, Wwales..

Winger Daniel Candeias made it three goals in six minutes for Rangers to give Caixinha a 3-1 lead, and although Ryan Jack was sent off, Rangers made it 4-1 just moments later when Graham Dorrans converted from the penalty spot after Jason Holt had been fouled.

It was a vital, huge win for Caixinha to ease some of the pressure on him following last week’s Old Firm defeat to Celtic, and he had left back John to thank for his two-goal display.

John, 22, joined Rangers on a season-long loan deal from Cardiff last month, and whilst he has initially signed as cover for Lee Wallace, he has been pressed into action given a recent injury to Wallace.

BURTON-UPON-TRENT, ENGLAND - October 1:  Lucas Akins of Burton Albion and Declan John of Cardiff City in action during the Sky Bet Championship match between Burton Albion and Cardiff City...

The Welshman has shown real quality in his appearances for Rangers, leading to huge praise from Caixinha after his performance against Hamilton Academical.

Caixinha told BBC Sport that he thinks John is a ‘great player’, but the question surrounding him is over his rhythm after being frozen out at Cardiff, but Rangers must now look after him over the international break and continue to get him up to speed.

“Declan is a great player who has great characteristics in moving the game forward, positive energy taking us forward,” said Caixinha. “He also scores goals. The question is his rhythm because he hasn’t played more than one season. We now have time to take care of him,” he added.