PEDRO Caixinha produced arguably one of his most impressive personal performances as Rangers manager in the immediate aftermath of one of his side’s worst displays at Hampden on Sunday afternoon.

He graciously congratulated Motherwell on their victory. He refused to blame referee Steven McLean for the result despite being incensed by many of his decisions and being sent to the stand for protesting on the touchline. He admitted his team had failed to play well and accepted full responsibility for that.

It was a showing befitting of somebody in his position at the Ibrox club even if that of his players had fallen some way short of the standards expected of them.

Yet, the Portuguese coach, whose seven months in Glasgow have been riddled with downright bizarre and ill-advised statements about dogs barking at caravans and being addicted to winning like vampires are attracted to blood, reverted to type at Auchenhowie yesterday.

He predicted that Motherwell, who had subjected his players to a series of uncompromising challenges during the course of 90 incident-packed minutes, would be unable to finish the Betfred Cup final against Celtic next month with all 11 men on the park.

He also took swipes at the standard of officiating in this country, the quality of both the national team and our clubs sides and the style of play favoured by many of those in the top flight.

“Motherwell will play the final against Celtic,” he said. “They will play the same way and I wish them all the very best. I know that they will not finish the game with 11 players. They will take the right decisions.

“The ref didn’t take the decisions he needed to take (on Sunday). I have reviewed the game and I am shocked at what I saw. Have you seen Fabio’s (Cardoso) face today?

“It’s even worse than the photo. If you call that football and if that happened and nothing happens as a consequence then I don’t know what might happen in the future.

“They know how to play physically, but physical is one thing, aggression is another. Do you think in a normal game of football they will have 11 players? There are three teams on the pitch - Rangers, Motherwell and the officials.”

When it was pointed out that Bruno Alves had been fortunate not to be shown a straight red card for kicking out at Louis Moult as they both lay on the ground late on and suggested the decisions had levelled out over the course of the game, he said: “Not for me.

“If (Ryan) Bowman is sent off after 12 minutes after he elbows Fabio and then he kicks from the back then things change in a game with 80 minutes still to play. It’s different at 2-0 when something happens with Bruno and the game is already finished.”

Caixinha then turned his attention to the national game as a whole in an unprovoked diatribe which left those in attendance scratching their heads in puzzlement.

“Can I also ask are we happy the way Scottish football is going, happy with the direction?” he said.

“How many international referees in the final stages of the biggest competition come from Scotland? How many Scottish players are known at European level, not even world level?

“How many points do Scotland have from the UEFA co-efficient and how long has it been going down? How long has the Scottish national team missed out on big tournaments?”

Asked what relevance that had to do with his Rangers team losing the semi-final to Motherwell at the weekend, Caixinha replied: “Everything. You have the connection.

“You were at the game on Sunday? Was it a football game or an ugly game? Is that the direction we want in Scottish football? The question is why haven’t the team coped with it. But it has to be everything.”

Caixinha - who has spent over £8 million on new players, eight of who started at Hampden on Sunday, in the summer – last season asked to be judged once he had been given a transfer window to bring in his own players.

The 46-year-old, whose side take on Kilmarnock at Ibrox tomorrow night in a Ladbrokes Premiership game they need to win to ease the mounting pressure on him, appeared to suggest yesterday that he needed even more time and money.

“Can I ask you how many transfer windows we have had so far?” he said. “How many months have we been in the club? How many things more do we need to change? How many years has Rangers been out of the main system in Scottish football?

“This is a massive club with a huge history and a loyal fan base. This is what makes it big. What you need inside - and the board, chairman and players are working towards this - is to get the right structure with everyone sharing the same vision.”

It is highly unlikely, having failed to win three games in a row once against this weekend, that Pedro Caixinha will be given the time which he wants to deliver the success which he needs to survive and the supporters crave.