Gordon Smith: Promising signs, but jury still out on Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha

PEDRO CAIXINHA is facing a vital fortnight in his fight to have a long-term future as Rangers manager.

I don’t believe the Ibrox directors will pass judgment on him until at least the halfway point of this season.

The supporters, however, will probably make their minds up when a quarter of the campaign is over.

Most people will judge him after that initial period.

He will have had more than six months in the job at that point.

Last Sunday’s victory over Ross County was absolutely crucial. A defeat would have left Rangers six points behind Celtic and eight adrift of Aberdeen.

It’s still early days, but Caixinha will come under intense pressure if his team falls significantly behind those two clubs.

That’s why the upcoming Premiership matches against Dundee and Partick Thistle are so important.

They come before the first Old Firm game of the season at Ibrox on September 23.

Two wins are vital to make sure they’re not playing the Glasgow derby with a gap already beginning to emerge between the two old rivals.

It’s also important for morale amongst the players.

They won’t be looking ahead to the game against Celtic right now but it’s already in the thoughts of the fans.

People might imagine the players look ahead to these big games, but I know that didn’t happen when I played for Rangers.

The expectation to win every match is so great that you can only focus on the job in hand.

You might not be playing one of the strongest teams in the division, but you can be sure they’ll be giving everything they’ve got to try to beat you.

The Rangers’ performance against Celtic will make up a lot of minds about whether or not Caixinha is cut out to take the club forward.

He only added one player to his squad last week – defender Declan John on loan from Cardiff – but there were plenty of signings earlier in the summer.

There’s not enough evidence to suggest that things have turned around completely at Ibrox, but there are signs that some things are slightly better.

Some of the new players are fitting in pretty well.

Alves and Dorrans continue to look like good signings but they were a pretty safe bet.

One source of encouragement for the fans is the form of striker Alfredo Morelos.

He had a good scoring record in Finland with HJK Helsinki and there are signs that he could bring that to Scotland.

His second goal in the 3-1 win over Ross County was a gift thanks to goalkeeper Scott Fox inexplicably dwelling on the ball at his feet.

But you have to give the young Colombian credit for being aware of the situation. It showed a hunger and desire to score goals.

It hasn’t gone unnoticed that players Rangers allowed to leave have all suddenly hit top form.

It looks like poor judgment when Michael O’Halloran is playing so well at St Johnstone, while Joe Garner and Martyn Waghorn are scoring for Ipswich.

I’m also told Barrie Mackay has been outstanding for Nottingham Forest.

As ever, results are the most important thing for a boss.

A run of victories will keep Caixinha’s critics at bay and talk of former players will fade away.

Morelos banging in the goals would be a massive boost.

Rangers haven’t had a regular scorer for some time and it’s something that’s essential for success at the top level.