Pedro Caixinha must win his next three matches or face the sack.
That’s the grim warning this morning to the beleaguered Sevco boss from Keith Jackson.
Ross County and Partick Thistle are to be visited either side of the home match against Dundee with anything dropped in those matches likely to signal the end for Caixinha.
The Daily Record’s award winning reporter is currently not welcome at Ibrox or Murray Park but has been close to the decision makers inside the club through various regime changes.
Saturday’s 0-0 defeat with Hearts led to the players being booed off the park with Caixinha insulting the fans intelligence by claiming that opponents are now respecting the Ibrox side.
As Caixinha and Sevco struggle Celtic go from strength to strength with a derby match just over a month away
“Caixinha’s problem is Celtic,” Jackson explains. “Or, perhaps more precisely, it’s Rodgers.
“The Rangers board did not sanction such an ambitious spending spree this summer in order to settle for a distant second place. They took that as a given.
“No, they handed over millions of pounds for players such as Carlos Pena and Eduardo Herrera because they expected Caixinha to cut a considerable chunk out of the 39-point chasm Rodgers opened up in his first 10 months in the gig.
“To put it into some context, Celtic dropped just eight league points over the entirety of that clean sweep campaign. Three games into the new term, the Rangers boss has squandered more than half of that tally already.”
He added: “In less than five weeks from now, Caixinha will square up to Rodgers in the first Old Firm derby of the season.
“He has three league matches to negotiate before then – an away trip to Ross County on Sunday followed by a visit from Dundee and a short hop across the Clyde to play Partick Thistle at Firhill.
“He needs to take nine points from these matches. Anything less could present Rodgers with the chance to get the gap back into double figures before the end of September by winning at Ibrox.
“And if that should happen then it’s highly likely Caixinha’s clock will have ticked its last tock.”
Caixinha signed a three year contract when he replaced Mark Warburton in March but it is believed that there is a 90 days notice period in the deal.
Alex McLeish and Barry Ferguson are likely to be the leading candidates to step in if Caixinha is sacked although it’s believed that Kenny Miller is highly rated by the men that recruited Caixinha.
Should Celtic and Aberdeen continue their 100% starts to the season on Saturday Sevco will start the match at Ross County on Sunday eight points behind the table toppers.
All three matches against the Dingwall club last season ended in draws.