WE never thought life was going to be boring under Pedro Caixinha, and this week certainly backed up that theory.

Last Saturday, against Motherwell, the new Gers coach performed what could best be described as major surgery at half-time after his team had misfired during the first 45 and to cope with injuries.

And this week, he comes out and names his team to play Kilmarnock a whole 36 hours ahead of the kick-off. As I say, nothing dull about coach Caixinha.

Read more: I'll be ready for Old Firm action if needed after making my Rangers bow, says Myles Beerman

Let’s take last weekend at Ibrox first. You have to admire a coach who, rather than persevere with a formation and a set-up that wasn’t working – and don’t forget, also losing 1-0 at the time – decides enough is enough and goes for broke.

Yes, his hand may well have been forced because of players being injured or ill. But I don’t think anyone saw Rangers trying to claw back a goal deficit, with a three-man back line, and two of those midfield players.

You can take credit for that and the praise and plaudits because it worked. But what would have happened had the Well added a second goal?

I doubt too many would have been admiring Caixinha’s boldness, bravery and foresight then.

A few days on, and it was on to Kilmarnock, only this time, the Portuguese coach sprung his surprises ahead of the game.

I know a couple of managers have hinted at who they might play to swell the crowd on occasions, but until last Tuesday, the only coaches I can remember naming their starting XI that far in advance of a kick-off was Andy Roxburgh about 30 years ago before a European Championship game against the Republic of Ireland, and, a few years later when Graeme Souness gave us an idea of his team to play against Bayern over in Germany.

In the case of Souness, there was little else he could do. From memory, I think he had something like 13 fit players to try to recoup a 3-1 deficit from the first leg in Glasgow, so most people knew or could have a pretty accurate guess at who would start.

In the case of Andy Roxburgh, it backfired terribly, Ireland winning 1-0 
at Hampden.

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Roxburgh’s logic was that the fans would come out and support the team if they knew who was playing. Unfortunately, so too did Jack Charlton. 
It was not dissimilar this week with Rangers. Because having managed to take a point, former Gers star and current Killie interim manager Lee McCulloch admitted that he’d changed his line-up and game plan to suit the side Caixinha had listed.

IT WAS pretty clear McCulloch used Kris Boyd to great effect, targeting the less experienced members of the Rangers defence. Again, Caixinha got away with it. On another day, it could have been catastrophic. 

The one good thing is that he knows now what the likes of David Bates and Myles Beerman are capable of. And that is something that Caixinha is going to have to do over the next few weeks to decide who to keep on.

My only issue with naming the side so early was that for Bates and Beerman, especially, it meant that rather than finding out on the day of the game that they were getting a starting berth, they had to think about it for a day and half. They coped with it well, but, it could easily have caused either – or both – to get extremely anxious or nervous before the match.

Read more: I'll be ready for Old Firm action if needed after making my Rangers bow, says Myles Beerman

But who knows. It could have all been part of Caixinha’s plan and strategy to find out just what these laddies had about them.

However, a chance for one player usually means another has to sit it out, and, maybe even realise that he is surplus to requirements.
When you are the only recognised central defender on the bench, yet the manager goes with a back three set-up of Rob Kiernan, Jon Toral and Andy Halliday when trying to stave off a home defeat, and you don’t get on, it’s time up. 

I can’t help thinking that unless he knows something we don’t, Philippe Senderos, after last Saturday, must realise that he won’t be a Rangers player after this summer.

I don’t think that comes as a shock to anyone; his stay in Glasgow has been doomed from the off, ever since being pitched in at the deep end in the Old Firm game which ended in a 5-1 loss and a red card.

After that, it was going to take something special to find a way back. And he just didn’t have it.