Pedro Caixinha has put in the effort - now he just needs the rewards for Rangers

If that box ends up being ticked, Pedro Caixinha will have a victory over Celtic to his credit.

Old Firm week is an extraordinary experience but the Portuguese has maintained an ordinary approach as he counts down to the days to Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final.

It will be a step into the unknown as Caixinha strides out at Hampden. It is a journey he and his squad are ready for.

Read more: Pedro Caixinha urges Rangers squad to make the most of their shot at Scottish Cup glory

He has put in the hours behind his desk and on the training field and now he hopes those efforts are rewarded on the park as Rangers continue their quest for silverware.

“I tried to get the players focused on the match preparation,” Caixinha said.

“It’s a long week, it’s always good to have more time to prepare for knock-out matches like this one will be.

“And the focus on the players was about how to play our match, what we want from the game, and we started to do that on Tuesday. That has been the focus. I’m not feeling anything else.

“Even being in the city, getting home late from here, when I arrive there it is almost like a ghost city, no-one is there.

“So I can have a nice, quiet dinner with the family. I am focused on my work and the players are focused on their work.

“I’m a guy who works from a to-do list. When the list is complete, I go.

“Yesterday (Wednesday) for example was the earliest day I left since I arrived here. I arrived here at 5.30 in the morning and I left a six o’clock in the afternoon.

“I’m preparing the game like all other games, knowing that this is going to be a knockdown.

“This is going to be a semi-final. This is going to be a very important stage. It’s going to be my first Old Firm match but I cannot think about the game behind that.

“I think about the game to live it, to enjoy it, but to prepare it the same way we prepare all the others, with the exception that this is a semi-final and it gives you a ticket to get to the final and fight for a trophy.”

The starts are early and the days are long but the tasks are enjoyable for Caixinha as he continues to immerse himself in Rangers and Scottish football.

Supporters have warmed to his messages and his players are adapting to his methods. His work is meticulous but on Sunday the result is the only thing that will matter.

Read more: Pedro Caixinha urges Rangers squad to make the most of their shot at Scottish Cup glory

Caixinha said: “We analyse our team, we analyse the opponents, we prepare the training sessions, we organise the way we want the team to play. I think also about how we are going to play regarding the first 11.

“When I have the presentation from the opponents, which we do by moments of the game, that’s where I’m trying to see exercises to draw.

“For example if the opponents are in the offensive organisation moment and they have the ball what they do, for example, and what we have to do to stop those situations.

“The opposite when they are defending, what sort of spaces we can explore. To have an idea of all the opponents we have faced so far, in domestic games, we have the footage and the video of their last five or six matches. That has been enough.

“For Celtic we need to go further, to the Champions League games. The reason why is very clear.

“It’s because along this season they were not forced to act in some circumstances and those circumstances happened only in the Champions League matches.

“Now we are the only team in Scotland defending zonally on corners, so we know that Celtic is not used to it. On the Champions League games you saw them doing it against Barcelona and Manchester City.”

If Rangers do fail to overcome Brendan Rodgers’ side at Hampden, it will not be down to a lack of effort or preparation from Caixinha. Having devised his blueprint, he now needs his players to put the plan into action.

Read more: Pedro Caixinha urges Rangers squad to make the most of their shot at Scottish Cup glory

The Glasgow goldfish bowl can become an exhausting and suffocating experience and it is an existence that not everyone can handle.

Caixinha is still settling into life in Light Blue, but he won’t change his routine as he adopts a familiar schedule.

He said: “Yes [it is possible to switch off]. I did watch, for example, the Champions League matches this week.

“But sometimes if I have time, I like to go for a nice dinner with the family. That’s what I like to do, to discuss some family matters.

“I also had two days off before we started training this week and I went to Edinburgh and switched off completely.

“When I need to work, it is from 5am to 5pm, 8pm or 10 pm - whatever I need. But when I need to switch off, I switch off.

"I try to do that on a daily basis, because we are all creatures of habit. That’s my habit.

“I’ve always done this, since I arrived at Sporting Lisbon in 2003. I’m not changing anything now. I’m not doing this just because I’m at Rangers. Wherever I have been, it was exactly the same.”

The introduction of a new working week, and therefore the cancellation of the usual Wednesday day off, is just one of the changes that Caixinha has implemented at Auchenhowie.

The 46-year-old has big game experience from his time at the likes of Sporting, Panathinaikos, Rapid Bucharest and Santos Laguna.

But the build-up, the hype and the stakes don’t faze him as he looks to take the Old Firm occasion in his stride.

Caixinha said: “It depends - you have two types of stress. The good stress and distress.

Read more: Pedro Caixinha urges Rangers squad to make the most of their shot at Scottish Cup glory

“I feel good. I’m not anxious about the game. I just focus on doing my job.

“To do my job for the game is not just all about arriving at the match meeting and saying ‘we are going to play this way’.

“We are testing things throughout the week and there is a lot of work to prepare. That’s why I need to spend so much time at the training ground.

“You need to analyse, you need to take decisions. But I’m always one who believes that the more information you have, the better decisions you are able to take. That’s why I’m always looking to be so detail orientated.”