RANGERS are now entering their second week of pre-season as Pedro Caixinha's preparations for next season step up once more.

A host of signings have already arrived in Glasgow, including the likes of Portuguese trio Bruno Alves, Fabio Cardoso and forward Dalcio. The link to Caixinha's homeland doesn't stop there with Benfica's forgotten defender Daniel Candeias.

Today, SportTimes has spoken to journalist João Pedro Cordeiro who has been monitoring the reaction to the 46-year-old back in Portugal.

Read more: Daniel Candeias becomes the eighth player to join Rangers this summer

Here, he gives us his view on how the former Al Gharafa head coach's interest has risen while giving us the lowdown on his new recruits.

How is Pedro Caixinha viewed in Portugal?

Curiously, Caixinha became a more respected coach after he left Portugal and after the work he did in Mexico. It was a big surprise that after that he went to Al Gharafa.

In Portugal he did solid jobs in Leiria and in Nacional but didn't really overachieve. At that time, Leiria was a midtable club and Nacional a contender for Europa League places already, so he left Portugal as a medium quality manager. He then made himself a great reputation when he led Santos to Copa MX and Liga MX titles.

Has his work at Rangers attracted attention? Are people taking notice of Scottish football now in Portugal?

Read more: Daniel Candeias becomes the eighth player to join Rangers this summer

It did. Before Caixinha went to Rangers people didn't really gave much attention to Scottish football and right now there are news about Rangers and Celtic pretty much everyday. Naturally, Rangers became more popular.

The most important sports television channel, SportTV, didn't show much of Scottish football until then, but after that they did actually broadcast Old Firm games and the Scottish Cup Final.

I truly believe they will now broadcast Rangers games regularly next season, even if that's not confirmed yet.

There does seem an invasion of Portugal players. Bruno Alves in particular. What has been the reaction to this?

People saw this as a real show of intent of Rangers. Going from Clint Hill to a Portuguese international and a regular first team in Fernando Santos' team is a huge step up.

Even though he's ageing, Bruno Alves can still do a very decent job. Fábio Cardoso is also a good young prospect and have been seen as a future Portuguese international.

Dalcio, though, is a bit of a surprise and an intriguing signing as he is yet to show particular talent at senior level.

What can you tell us about Daniel Candeias? Would he be good for Rangers? Has he been unlucky at Benfica?

Candeias is a limited player to play in a team like Benfica who see the vast majority of the ball every game. Against tight defences, he's not creative enough to make a difference.

Candeias is a player for a fast break attacking teams. He has pace and he's a vertical player, but not exactly versatile. Despite that, he can be a good fit for Rangers and fits perfectly in the way Caixinha usually plays, as he usually instructs his players to defend deep and counter fast and aggressively.

Read more: Daniel Candeias becomes the eighth player to join Rangers this summer

He's an energetic winger with good workrate who tracks back and helps the full back defending and can do that all day long. At Benfica, however, he always had way greater players ahead of him. Also, he was never signed by Benfica to play in the first team. He was a business oportunity for the club.

That's why he always went on loan, so he can get playing time so he could value and leave later for a profit. Which is what is happening.

What else can you tell me about Pedro or his signings?

It is right to say that Caixinha was looking for people and players who could transport his own mindset and personality into the field.

Bruno Alves, Fábio Cardoso and Candeias are exactly that, aggressive players with loads of workrate that die on the field for the shirts they are playing for.

Dalcio is the weird one, as I said, and if he gets to be successful in Scotland it will be a big surprise.

Pedro's a strong personality and sometimes gets himself in trouble with some players because of that but he's also fearless and has no problem to make unpopular decisions.