Chris Jack: Pedro Caixinha and Rangers board should be judged in the summer

We demand success today not tomorrow, answers in the here and now. At Rangers, the longer-term view is the one that matters most.

The second week in May is not the time to judge Pedro Caixinha as manager, nor is it an opportune moment for fans to back or lambast his Ibrox bosses.

Caixinha was always going to have doubters to win over but it will take longer than the weeks he has had and the final matches of the campaign to form an opinion on whether he has what it takes to be a success in Light Blue.

Read more: Pedro Caixinha: Rangers showed their fighting spirit to battle back against Partick Thistle

He has inherited a squad that is not fit for purpose. Now he will have a chance to assemble one that he will hope can challenge Celtic in the Premiership.

Rangers have hardly caught the eye in Caixinha’s first few matches at the helm but the performances have been just as important as the results for the Portuguese.

His assessment of what he has and what he needs is almost complete. His shopping list has been drawn up and now it is up to Dave King and his board to deliver.

It is only when Caixinha is surrounded by his own recruits that a more complete view can be formed of the 46-year-old. Like his predecessor Mark Warburton, he will succeed or fail by the strength of his record in the transfer market and a considerable overhaul is on the cards once again.

Every move that Rangers make will be scrutinised during the close season and if Caixinha doesn’t recruit well then his critics will have more ammunition and his detractors will grow in number.

It is impossible to judge the Portuguese at present and his first couple of months at the helm were never going to define his Ibrox tenure. That honeymoon period won’t last forever, though.

Rangers must act swiftly and decisively in the transfer market. They return to training on June 5 and the side that takes to the field three weeks later in the Europa League must look considerably different to the one that finishes a campaign to forget at McDiarmid Park.

That is where King, his board and his investors come in. 

Read more: Pedro Caixinha: Rangers showed their fighting spirit to battle back against Partick Thistle

Much has been made, once again, about King’s absence from the Directors’ Box in the aftermath of the Old Firm humiliation last weekend.

The commentary is the same after every defeat for Rangers. There are calls for cash to be splashed and plans to be put on the table while King’s commitment – both personal and financial – are questioned.

But the Gers chairman doesn’t need to be at Ibrox every week to know what is going on and what needs done. He will continue to rule from afar.

King has talked the talk since climbing the Marble Staircase. Now, supporters want him to put his money where his mouth is.

No board will ever give too much away in public and Rangers won’t lay out their blueprint for the future for all to pore over. When King, Paul Murray and Managing Director Stewart Robertson attend the NARSA conference in Las Vegas next month, the fans will hope they are given an insight into where Rangers are and where they are going, though.

The Ibrox board backed Warburton sufficiently in the four transfer windows that he was in charge and Caixinha now has to be given the same opportunity, with even greater resources, to wheel and deal.

It is only after King and Co. have shown their hand can their efforts, and perhaps their positions, be analysed. Time will tell.

King has committed to backing Caixinha in the coming months and the Portuguese has presented a list of targets he believes are realistic within the parameters he has been set.

The search for a Director of Football is ongoing and by the time the window closes in August, Rangers have to look different on and off the park.

That is when King and Caixinha can, and should, be judged. Both have a chance to impress supporters. It is one they have to make the most of.