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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Ben Banks

Inside Pedro Caixinha's wacky Rangers motivation tactics as Gerard Butler used in comedic Aberdeen edit stunt

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.”

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