THE to-do list which Pedro Caixinha is still sifting through will be, you would imagine, headed by two points.

Win a trophy and beat Celtic. And not necessarily in that order. This is a big week for the Portuguese, the biggest of his time as Ranger manager and, depending how things go, might well be the one which defines his time at Ibrox.

Should Rangers lose to Partick Thistle in tonight’s Bedfred Cup quarter-final at Firhill, and after Friday this is a tricky tie to call, then one of the only two competitions Caixinha’s side realistically can win will be gone.

If Celtic, as perhaps nine out of ten people believe, win at Ibrox for a third straight time come Saturday, on the back of a cup upset, it would be hard to see how the manager could recover in the eyes of most supporters especially if the defeat is a heavy one.

Of course, this is the equivalent of writing a man’s obituary before he’s even gone in for his operation in the sense that while nobody can argue Caixinha has so far fallen short, his team could win at Firhill and then beat their old pals.

That is some way from being an impossibility. The Rangers supporters, however, will approach the next five days with understandable trepidation.

Beating Celtic is not, never has been and never will be unimportant. However, even more vital to this football club is that they win a major trophy for the first time since being placed into liquidation in 2012.

It won’t feel that way come Saturday, regardless of tonight’s result, but it is nonetheless true. And Caixinha yesterday gave off the impression the knows what his priority is right here and now.

“That’s the major point, the key point,” said the manager when asked how important was it for Rangers to win something after a gap of six years.

“We really have that desire because we know how long the club has been away from these occasions.

“Two seasons ago they reached the Scottish Cup final but it’s important for the confidence of everyone who works here on a daily basis plus the board and, particularly, the fans – who are the main reason this club has been kept alive.

“So it’s important for us to have that type of feeling and ambition so tomorrow is a major game for us.”

That it is and it won’t be an easy one. Thistle will have taken a lot from last Friday’s draw and will fancy reaching their first semi-final in well over a decade.

“This is a different game and a difficult game,” Caixinha acknowledged. “It’s a knock-out competition so we just need someone to win it, whether that’s after 90 minutes, extra time or penalties. It will be decided.

“We want to be present at Hampden for the final in November so we need to win. Because of the characteristics, this is the most important game of the season so far.

“I always have the players practise taking penalties. When we have more time, we practise every single day – if we’re busy, it will be just a couple of times per week. You need to be ready for everything. We don’t want to be in a shoot-out but, if that happens, we have to be ready.”

Caixinha is keeping his powder dry, at least in public, in relation to the Old Firm game.

His weekend claim that he wouldn’t be thinking about Celtic until after the cup tie is, with all due respect, impossible to believe. Kenny Miller will not figure tonight and that’s no coincidence given what’s on the horizon.

When asked to comment about Brendan Rodgers also questionable claim that Rangers had spent more money than Celtic, meaning they brought to win the league this season, the Portuguese told us that he will respond to that on Thursday. That should be fun.

Rangers will almost certainly be without Lee Wallace, Jordan Rossiter, Niko Kranjcar and there are concerns about the sharpness of others; most notably the lesser-spotted Carlo Pena, a signing of over £2million lestw e forget, who his manager confirmed will start against Partick Thistle.

“We have a couple of injuries but that’s part of football,” said Caixinha.

“But we have 18 players who will definitely travel tomorrow and 11 of them will start. There are another couple who are not on that list who still need to do some extra work. We have a squad which is prepared for these situations.”

Wallace, the club captain, travelled to Manchester yesterday to have his troublesome groin assessed.

Caixinha said: “We don’t know yet whether Lee needs more surgery – that’s for the medical people to decide. I’m just a football coach; I can’t control that.”

That might not be the only uncontrollable element to his life if the next five days go wrong for him.