RANGERS manager Pedro Caixinha admits his side will have to fight for their last four place in the BetFred Cup after both halves of the Old Firm were handed away ties at the quarter final stage.
The two Glasgow giants avoided each other but the Ibrox side, impressive 6-0 victors against Dunfermline, did manage to land an alternative Glasgow derby, away to Partick Thistle at Firhill. Celtic must travel to Dens Park to take on Dundee, who overcame their city rivals last night 2-1.
The other two ties see Motherwell, who overcame Ross County in extra time, host Aberdeen and Hibs welcoming Livingston to Easter Road. The matches will be played between September 19 and 21.
Caixinha said he was too preoccupied with league business, not least Saturday's Ladbrokes Premiership encounter with Hibernian, to give the next match his full consideration but felt last night's "performance and result" were important for the evolution of his team.
"It's too far away from now," he said. "We have a month to get there. But it's going to be a game that we need to fight in to get to the semi-finals. We're focused on the immediate now. It was important to have this performance and result, to get through in the competition. But our focus now is on Saturday and Hibernian."
Caixinha spoke of his delight for Colombian striker Alfredo Morelos, who scored his first two goals for the club since his summer arrival from HJK Helsinki, and said they would be the first of many. Other star turns on the night were Portuguese stars Bruno Alves and Daniel Candeias, both of whom scored spectacular free-kicks. The night was less auspicious for skipper Lee Wallace, who picked up a knock in the warm-up and was unable to take part.
"I think what really pleased me is the anger and the passion he [Morelos] played with," said Caixinha. "He fought for every ball, he was always fighting. And he was in the right place to score. That's just two goals in what I'm sure will be a long career of scoring many more goals for Rangers. But strikers live on goals. It's important for him. The levels of confidence make a difference to him.
"I really enjoyed it tonight," he added. "I was really pleased with quality, commitment, pace and rhythm. The leadership was good, controlling the game. We were much more efficient. I have to be pleased with that, One point I'm really pleased is how the team got on top. We have been really ready for the game, ready to fight for every inch. The scoring means we have freedom in all positions. We ask the players to be dynamic and play aggressive football. Everybody wants to shoot and attack spaces. Then, when we don't have the ball, we have to leave the opponents thinking they are playing against 22 players."
While his opposite number Allan Johnston bemoaned the standard of his side's performance but conceded that how the Championship outfit fared against Rangers was not going to "make or break their season", Ibrox midfielder Jordan Rossiter was another looking forward to the challenge of facing Partick Thistle in the next round. "It is a good fixture, it is always competitive there, a good away ground to go to, and a Glasgow derby as well."
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