PEDRO CAIXINHA had plenty of things to consider in the aftermath of the defeat to Progres Niederkorn and the last few days will have been tough for everyone at Rangers.

But, as I said in my column last week, the manager, the players and the fans have to move on from what happened in Luxembourg. It is gone and it can’t be changed.

Everyone had to look forward to the start of the Premiership campaign and arranging a couple of friendly games was crucial in that regard.

The fixture against Sheffield Wednesday comes a week before we head to Fir Park for the first league outing of the season and it will be an important afternoon for Pedro.

Thousands of fans made the trip down to Hillsborough when we played there a couple of years ago and I am sure the supporters are looking forward to returning.

It will be a good day out for them but they will be looking for the team to turn in a decent performance, and hopefully win the game as well. The result isn’t as important but the fans will want to see signs of improvement in the side.

It is one thing playing bounce games at Auchenhowie, but it is another, and far more beneficial, to play in front of a crowd and against good opposition. This is the kind of test that Rangers need.

I would think there would be another fixture lined up between now and the Motherwell game to ensure the team are in the best shape possible for the start of the Premiership.

Pedro has made a lot of changes to the squad but he needs to know what his strongest XI is and you only find that out by playing matches and trying things out. The more games we get, the better prepared we will be.

The manager has plenty of options and having those options allows him to be flexible in the way he sets the team up tactically.

He will have his preferred system but you need to be adaptable as a manager and be able to go three at the back, put another man in midfield or go with two up front if you see that the game plan isn’t working.

Before you can do that, you need to know what players work best together in the respective systems. That knowledge only comes by putting it all into action in games.

Mark Warburton used to stick to 4-3-3- almost no matter what and he got away with it in the Championship but when you are in the top flight you have got to adapt and be able to change things when the game is not going for you.

The manager will know what each player brings to the squad individually, now he needs to mould them into a team and a collective unit.

Everyone expected Rangers to have another couple of competitive games and to still be in the Europa League at this stage but that has not happened and we need to make the most of a bad situation now.

The gap between the Progres game and the Motherwell match means there is plenty of time to work on things in training, but that is not the same as getting out there on the park.

Pedro has a bit of work to do and he knows that he has to hit the ground running in the first few weeks of the campaign. When the real stuff starts at Fir Park, Rangers have to get it right.

Everything now is being geared towards the first game and I would think there will be other games lined up, either at home or away or behind closed doors, before the start of the league season.

Rangers need to be at it every time they step on the park and that includes any friendly matches that they play in the coming weeks.

This is a new group of players and it is really important that they all come together. You don’t want the Scottish lads together and the foreign lads together and cliques forming in the dressing room.

That is not ideal for a manager and the trip to Sheffield will hopefully help in terms of team bonding as well. They can go away, spend a bit of time with each other in the hotel and get to know each other more. I am sure the foreign lads will be learning as much English as they can.

There is lots for Pedro to consider and work on over the next couple of weeks and the focus now is all on getting off to a good start in the Premiership.

It is no use going to Hillsborough and giving everyone in the squad a run-out. By that stage, he needs to have an idea of how he is going to approach the Motherwell game.

The team that is going to play at Fir Park needs to have had as much time on the pitch together as possible so I would hope there is at least another one game lined up.

Pedro has got to prove himself to the Rangers fans and everyone is bitterly disappointed after going out of Europe at the first stage.

But we should now be looking forward to the Premiership and hopefully the build-up over the next couple of weeks will allow us to get off to a winning start.