THEY have done the easy part, got the first big call right. Now, the task becomes that bit more difficult for the Rangers board.

The decision to relieve Pedro Caixinha of his duties was, in the end, a straightforward one for Dave King and his directors.

For some time, it has been a matter of when rather than if the Portuguese would see his tenure come to a premature end. It was short, but it was hardly sweet for Caixinha or Rangers.

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As the points were dropped and the big games were lost, the body of evidence against Caixinha steadily grew. After the defeat to Motherwell on Sunday, there was no going back.

In many ways, the same can now be said of the Ibrox board as they begin their search for a manager just seven months after parading the second boss of their stewardship.

King will be well aware that it must be third time lucky for this particular group of directors. Having tried and tried again with Mark Warburton and then Caixinha, Rangers cannot afford another wrong appointment.

In a football sense, it would put them even further adrift of Celtic and all but guarantee that their Old Firm rivals will clinch a tenth successive Premiership title. That is the reality that faces King and Co.

But there could also be a personal cost to be paid if the man that replaces Caixinha turns out to be another false dawn rather than the boss that brings back the glory days to Ibrox.

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Supporters will be forever grateful to King, Paul Murray and John Gilligan, who left the board in May, for their efforts in removing a reviled regime from office two-and-a-half years ago.

Having seen a series of charlatans climb the Marble Staircase, with their only intention to line their pockets rather than see silverware in the Trophy Room, it was a moment that breathed fresh life into a fan base that had been through the wringer too often.

Their efforts since, particularly in the battle with Mike Ashley and Sports Direct, ensure there is still significant levels of goodwill towards the Directors’ Box from around Ibrox.

But the men that saved Rangers must now prove all over again that they are the right people to run Rangers. Having business acumen is one thing, but having football sense is another.

The appointment of Caixinha was a gamble that Rangers couldn’t afford to take. It is one that has backfired spectacularly and board members and investors are now counting the cost, not just of hiring and firing the 46-year-old but of funding his multi-million pound rebuilding job over the summer.

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King took a backseat during the recruitment process as Graeme Park, with Stewart Robertson and Andrew Dickson alongside, drove through Caixinha’s move from Al-Gharafa to Ibrox. It was the wrong road to go down, and Caixinha inevitably arrived at a dead end.

Now the search will have to commence all over again as Rangers look to appoint their third manager in three seasons and prepare for what is likely to be another hectic couple of rounds of comings and goings from the Light Blues squad.

The failure of Mark Warburton shouldn’t rule out Rangers taking another boss from England and bringing him north of the border, but this is no time for a project manager, someone with big ideas but little to back it up. Neither is it one for taking a chance on an unknown and hoping, in the face of the available evidence and warnings, that a gem can be unearthed and polished.

Unlike on their last scour of the market, Rangers have someone with a background in the game in their corner this time around and this is a chance for Mark Allen to put his stamp on the football structure at Ibrox and Auchenhowie, as well as an opportunity to impress the fans, who have heard little about him since he arrived from Manchester City in June.

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The reigns of Warburton and Caixinha have shown Rangers the pitfalls that quickly come around when wrong decisions are made and good money is thrown after bad. But they also provide valuable lessons from which they must learn this time around.

The next manager will live or die by their decisions and will succeed or fail by his results as he looks to return Rangers to the top of the Scottish game.

This time, though, there could be consequences for the boss’ bosses if Rangers don’t satisfy the demands and realise the expectations of a fan base that have been starved of silverware in recent years.

The Caixinha era has rightly come to an end and now another will begin at Ibrox. This one could be defining in the dugout and the boardroom.