Pedro Caixinha liked to think outside the box when it came to how to rally his Rangers trip - and a new story has come to light.
The Portuguese manager's time in charge at Ibrox didn't end with success and he has got a name in the years that have followed as one of Scottish football's more ccentric characters in recent years. Moments like finding himself in a bush after a defeat to Proges Niederkorn in the Europa League only played into this narrative but there were a few promising results early doors, like a 3-0 win away at Aberdeen.
And the reason for why - probably - has been revealed by Andy Halliday. The Hearts midfielder was with his boyhood side at the time as Joe Dodoo and Kenny Miller struck, but a bizarre edit of the action blockbuster 300 with Gerard Butler was used to rally them. That film is known for its iconic 'This is Sparta' line and Caixinha used a clip from it that included Pittodrie. A team meeting was called and included the footage where Butler was looking out over a cliff, only this time his gaze was towards Aberdeen's Pittodrie home.
Halliday recalled on Superscoreboard: "When I was at Rangers under Pedro Caixinha we were playing Aberdeen at Pittodrie and he had a scene from 300. It was the one where Gerard Butler is looking over a cliff.
"As it panned round Gerard Butler was looking at Pittodrie and I don’t think that’s what he was looking at the movie. He’s edited the movie and when it pans over the cliff it’s just Pittodrie there.
"We did actually win 3-0. Joe Dodoo scored two and Kenny got the other one. So it worked, aye, I think it felt more like comedy than inspiring.”
