THE great Vince Lombardi once uttered the immortal line: "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." Listening to Pedro Caixinha's post-match interview after the hard-fought win at Motherwell, it seems that this has been embedded in his psyche.

Coming from, let’s be honest, the retirement home of the Qatari League, I don't think he quite understood what being the manager of an Old Firm club entailed.

It's a totally different pressure. Performances come a very distant second to winning. Celtic and Rangers need to win every week. Plain and simple. Anything else is just not acceptable to the fans. Every game is a must-win and with that you must have a strong mentality.

Taking a look back on the new-look Rangers performance at Fir Park where, despite a very good first half performance in which Josh Windass was in sensational form, they were hanging on towards the end to pick up a vital three points.

But in that second half where they didn't quite click and were sloppy in possession, I saw for the first time in ages a steel and resilience in the Rangers ranks; a bit of backbone. There is no doubt that last season that was a game they would have wilted under the late Motherwell bombardment, away from home, and dropped precious points.

Caixinha spoke continuously in the summer about bringing in "men". This would basically translate to signing players who were brave and would not fold or crumble on the pitch when things were not going right. Does that bravery mean being a hatchet man diving into tackles or charging around the pitch like a headless chicken, playing up to the fans and getting dragged out of position?

No, of course it doesn’t. What it does mean is showing the courage to get on the ball when you are losing a game, and hold on to possession under pressure from 10 or 50,000 restless, all screaming at you. It's easy to hide in that situation or pass the buck and Rangers had too many in that mode last season when the going got tough, when really you are under the cosh and need to see a game out. Or can you go and put your head in among those flying boots to clear that last-minute cross. That's real bravery.

In Graham Dorrans and Bruno Alves they have two who possess all of those vital characteristics.

Dorrans is undoubtedly a quality operator with stacks of ability and a strong mentality which he showed yesterday. He also knows the demands at Rangers. He was always available and showed real quality with his first goal, and a bit of bottle for his penalty.

In Alves, Rangers have signed a real old fashioned centre-back who will go and attack everything coming into his box. A guy who thrives on clean sheets and demands the same from the rest.

In Scottish football, you need that kind of central defender. I don’t think Rangers possessed one since getting rid of the very under-rated Darren McGregor. Both these guys will strengthen the spine of the Rangers team considerably. Cardoso looks good alongside Alves and Jack will sit and let Dorrans go and flourish. They already look infinitely better, physically and mentally, to what was being served up initially from Caixinha. He has his own team in situ now. There can be no excuses going forward. But it's not all rosy for Rangers.

I would ask the simple question of who is going to get 20 goals in that squad? On first impressions, Candeias is not an upgrade on Barrie McKay and Herrera doesn't look like a penalty-box type striker.

Morelos looks a little raw and untested in Scotland. With Kenny Miller more comfortable now floating wide or dropping deep to dictate play and pace, it is going to be a real issue for Rangers.

They need someone to stay in the box and play within the width of the 18 yard box. In Louis Moult, who incidentally might have earned his move with that stupid elbow on Cardoso – which, I should add, was superbly spotted by referee Bobby Madden – there could be the perfect solution.

In two seasons, he has netted 36 for a Motherwell team who have toiled badly. How many would he get playing in front of clever players like Dorrans and Miller? He looks a no-brainer to me for Rangers, if the price is right. That may just be the difference in getting closer to Celtic and, first things first, getting in front of a very consistent Aberdeen.

AND ANOTHER THING . . .

The Brendan Rodgers/Jon Daly spat after Celtic's 4-1 win over Hearts was certainly the big talking point of the weekend. Scottish football was back with a bang.

I must say well done to Daly for defending his club so vigorously and eloquently. Hearts are entitled to run their club whichever way they please and it's no one else's business. Ian Cathro would have known the parameters and expectations before he signed the contract. I’d add Rodgers was asked a question by a journalist and answered it openly and honestly. That's what we all want, isn't it? He showed real compassion and support for a young manager who had just lost his job, as he did with Paul Hartley. That is surely to be commended.

Let's call that spat a score draw. Something most clubs would take right now against Rodgers.