PEDRO Caixinha has demanded each of his Rangers players take a single penalty kick every day in training this week - in case the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic is decided by a shoot-out for the second year running.
The Ibrox club defeated their city rivals 5-4 on penalties in the last four of the national knockout cup competition for the first time ever in a competitive fixture 12 months ago after the game finished tied 2-2 after 120 minutes.
Caixinha, who will be in the dugout in a Glasgow derby match for the first time at Hampden tomorrow, has prepared for this season's showdown being settled in an identical manner.
The Portuguese manager has asked his charges to try their luck from 12 yards out just once after every session at Auchenhowie this week in a bid to replicate the same conditions they will experience at the national stadium.
The 46-year-old revealed he had decided on his designated penalty kick takers for the semi-final as a result of the exercise.
“It’s not only a derby it’s a semi-final," he said. "So things are a little bit different. Of course it is a big derby because we are playing Celtic, but it is just one semi-final.
“I’m not thinking about the match as my first Old Firm experience, but in order to prepare the team to be ready to face one of the strongest opponents they can. That’s undeniable, you cannot hide from that. The numbers are there.
"But now we are thinking about those 90 minutes on Sunday. Or if it’s 120 minutes, or if we need to go to penalties. So we started on Tuesday with the players practising penalties every day. It’s one possibility.
“When I reached the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup with Nacional in 2012, we went through every round on penalties and then lost on penalties to Sporting Lisbon in the semis.
“In Mexico, I won my first trophy with Santos Laguna on penalties. So we need to be ready for everything. We need to be ready for the opponent, but you are more important than your opponent.”
Caixinha added: “All the players have the chance to score one penalty in each one of the sessions this week. Normally they would get two or three, but this week just one.
“Normally, we want them to score two or three in a row. So if they miss one they have to start from the beginning again.
“But this week is different. This week we have given them only one chance because that is the reality and we need to be ready for everything.
“We have our chosen penalty takers. Normally, in every match, you have three. The first option, the second option and the third option. You have it written on a piece of paper on the wall - and the players know it and I will have the names in my notebook.”
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