FIRST it was caravans and barking dogs and now it is codeword Las Vegas. The inquisition has historically been Spanish, not Portuguese, yet Pedro Caixinha still faced a grilling of sorts yesterday, as the dust settled after an Old Firm defeat which left Rangers in fifth place in the Ladbrokes Premiership table, trailing eight points behind their city rivals, and six behind Aberdeen. All that was bad enough without a backdrop of apparent dressing room division, with leaked reports revealing that the Portuguese took some veteran Scottish players to task for the welcome he, his staff and the club's foreign signings had received this summer and upbraided Graham Dorrans for a lack of respect when he took it upon himself to remove his captain's armband and pass it to Kenny Miller, who had been controversially omitted from the starting line-up. With a different kind of test ahead at Hamilton on Friday night, Herald Sport felt it was worth reprinting the episode in full.

Q. How have the players reacted since Saturday's defeat?

PC: "Today was the second full session for the players who played on Saturday and the reaction was really good. On the day after a match, I always analyse and speak to them. Why are you just asking me this now? Is there something going on I don’t know?"

Q. There are reports of a heated exchange between you and the players. Care to comment?

PC: "It’s weird you are telling me about that. I don’t know anything about it. But I can tell you that all the analysis we do, we do it privately. Have some of you been to Las Vegas? Did you tell your wife everything that happened when you left Las Vegas? What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas. That’s the way it is."

Q. Are you frustrated by these leaks coming out of the dressing room?

PC: "No, it’s good that it’s coming out. It’s just one confirmation that what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas. But some guys are going and telling everything to their wife."

Q. Is the story accurate?

PC: "I don’t know the story. I know what happened in Las Vegas. It happened exactly in this room. Exactly with that TV set. But it’s between me and my players. It’s private."

Q. But it's not really private any more, is it? How is morale in the dressing room?

PC: "You were there at the end of the game? I said I expected a reaction, a strong reaction. I also said now was the moment to show which kind of blood we have in us to show a strong reaction. I also said we were going to see who is in favour of this vision, of this process – and who is against it. The boys have shown a very good reaction in training – but the reaction I want is on Friday."

Q. Do you still have players here then who, in your words, aren’t heading in the right direction?

PC: "I don’t know. I don’t know. But, when you go with one group of friends to Las Vegas and you know you are going to party and nobody is going to know about the party, then one of your friends says to his wife – to your wife and the other wives – what happens, the sentence is not valid any more.’

Q. Some fans, I'm sure, would be happy that you've shown anger. The players didn't exactly cover themselves in glory on Saturday.

PC: “I’m not here to please. I am the one who is going to take the responsibility. We know where we need to lead the club, where we need to lead the group and that’s what we are going to do. We have been doing that since the moment we arrived."

Q. Specifically, were you satisfied by the explanation Graham Dorrans gave you for removing the armband?

“I’m not talking any more about Las Vegas. You are pressing me and probably the reporter was there. I am glad that in a good and open conversation that I have people paying attention to what I said.”

Q. Are you concerned this could all have a negative effect?

PC: “I’m not concerned about anything. One thing that maybe was in Las Vegas and wasn’t exposed is that I’m not afraid of dying - at all. Zero. But I always will die with my ideas and mine alone. That’s what makes the difference.”

Q. You must be concerned that you haven't won three games in a row since you got here.

PC: “That is something that I need to be focused on and concerned about – but that’s my job, that’s part of football. That’s not part of the circus we are facing here. You’re trying to use me as a clown – and I’m not going to allow it. You are trying to make this situation a circus ... and they want me to be the fish in the goldfish bowl. It doesn't matter what people say or what people write, I will be focused on my job, totally focused on my job.

If I leave tomorrow, the club will be better than it was when I arrived. If I leave in 10 years' time, we will be totally in a different position. That is totally what I am focused on."

Q. Have you watched the Celtic game back again and do you still feel action should have been taken against Scott Brown for the incident with Alfredo Morelos?

PC: “Did you ever see me say one thing and then another thing after? Of course I analysed all the incidents in the game. I have the same opinion as I had when I referred to it in the analysis after the game."

Q. Hamilton on Friday will be a very different challenge to Saturday. Is it an awkward situation?

PC: "No, it is the situation that it is. All the teams have to play there, we have to play there a couple of times by the calendar. This is going to be the first one and we need to be ready for it. It is just a different situation because the team needs to react. It needs to show the character a Rangers team needs to have."

Q. Will there be changes to the starting line line-up from the Celtic match against Hamilton?

PC: “I don’t think so.”

Q. Will any of the injured players on Saturday – Declan John, Lee Wallace or Bruno Alves – be back?

PC: "Declan already started with us, and Bruno we are still assessing to know if he can or not. We still have hope he might be available."

Q. Do you feel you have 100% backing and the dressing room is united?

PC: "Totally, but you will need to ask me that after Friday. Because if you feel that reaction, the reaction we want, we will have our answer on Friday."