PEDRO Caixinha survived the humiliating and unprecedented 5-1 defeat which Rangers suffered on the last occasion they played Celtic at Ibrox back in April for one simple reason; he had only been appointed the month before and had to put his faith in the players he had inherited.

That will not, after a summer of extravagant spending, be an excuse he can fall back on this afternoon should his side, as they are widely expected to by everyone bar the most optimistic of their supporters, slump to the third loss of his six month tenure against their city rivals.

On this occasion, the buck will well and truly stop with him. The repercussions of failure, particularly one as abject as their previous capitulation, will be far more serious. The calls for him to be removed will grow and may become, even at this early stage in the new season, impossible for his paymasters to ignore.

Caixinha, who deemed many members of the squad he took charge of to be of insufficient quality to play for such a prominent club, lavished just shy of £9 million on the likes of Bruno Alves, Daniel Candeias, Fabio Cardoso, Graham Dorrans, Eduardo Herrera, Alfredo Morelos and Carlos Pena during the close season.

On top of that, he has also brought in Ryan Jack on a free transfer as well as Dalcio, Declan John and Aaron Nemane on loan.

Should his side fail to perform, should they once again struggle to compete, should they play with the same tactical ineptitude as on many occasions on the past, it is him who will be held personally responsible.

Caixinha, whose appointment, after unremarkable spells in charge of Uniao Leiria and Nacional in Portugal, Santos Laguna in Mexico and Al-Gharafa in Qatar, took everyone in Scottish football by surprise, may not be expected to win the Ladbrokes Premiership, or even the Betfred Cup and William Hilll Scottish Cup, in the months ahead.

Yet, his charges must certainly give a better account of themselves than was the case in the final weeks of last season and the early stages of this term – when they were knocked out of the Europa League in the qualifying rounds by the Luxembourgian part-time minnows Progres Niederkorn – if he is to hold onto his job.

Failure to show tangible signs of improvement, in the Old Firm games in particular, and finish above Aberdeen in second spot in the Premiership, if he lasts that long, will result in the fate which all of those in his profession inevitably suffer at some stage in their careers.

It may seem unfair given the vastly superior resources which his opposite number Brendan Rodgers has at his disposal at a club which this week announced it had increased its revenue to just over £90 million and made a profit of nearly £7 million in the past financial year.

It is, though, the reality of the position he is in. The expectations on him are not altogether unrea-sonable.

Caixinha’s explanations of his side’s woeful showings against Rodgers’s team last season – they were well beaten in the Scottish Cup semi-final as well as in a Premiership game in the space of six days – failed to ring true.

The Rangers team which had earned a richly-deserved 1-1 draw with Celtic at Parkhead in March, a game which he watched from a vantage point the main stand, was comprehensively outplayed on both occasions.

In the second outing, when they conceded five goals to their age-old adversaries at Ibrox for the first time in their history, it was his tactics, not the quality of those individuals who donned the light blue jersey, which were to blame for the reverse.

He played a midfield diamond against a side which had Patrick Roberts and Scott Sinclair out wide. It was a suicidal game plan which played directly to their opponents’ strengths. Only some slapdash finishing prevented them for winning by an even greater margin.

The 46-year-old is undeniably a hard worker. The pride feels at being in such a high-profile position at such a renowned club is also obvious. He can, too, be a charming and pleasant man.

Ultimately, it is how his side plays, not how many hours he puts in, how honoured he is to be here or how engaging his company is, which will determine if he proves his doubters wrong.

There have been too many mistakes, too many poor performances, too many errors of judge-ment, to date to suggest he has the acumen or stature to be a success in what would be a challenging position for even the most accomplished coach.

Publicly stating that Michael O’Halloran had no future at Ibrox without first telling the player was poor. Making madcap statements about dogs barking at caravans made him a figure of fun. As did standing in a bush and remonstrating with his own supporters after one of the worst results in his club’s existence.

A win today would be a really positive statement. It would also silence his many critics. But it would surely only offer Pedro a stay of execution.