STEWART ROBERTSON would have been entitled to have gone home last night feeling justifiably satisfied with how his new manager’s first day at the office had panned out. Of course Pedro Caixinha will ultimately be judged on silverware rather than soundbites, but this was a maiden public appearance that could scarcely have gone better. So at ease was Caixinha in front of the television camera and radio mics, and then a gaggle of newspaper men, that Robertson, sat in the chair next to him at both media conferences, didn’t really have to say much at all.

Robertson, Rangers’ managing director, was one of three men responsible for Caixinha’s appointment – the others were board members Graeme Park and Andrew Dickson – and it wasn’t difficult to see just how the Portuguese might have charmed them. During around 45 minutes of questioning, he came across as articulate - even in a foreign language - ambitious, knowledgeable and personable.

There will be merited questions on whether he is qualified to take on a job of this size but there is enough in both his CV and his personality to suggest he is at least worth a punt. For the second time in a row this Rangers regime have elected to steer clear of the more obvious names in their search for a new manager and, if Mark Warburton’s tenure eventually did not work out as hoped, then it evidently did not deter the recruitment panel from giving it another go.

Robertson explained just what it was about Caixinha that made him the right man for the job. He said: “I can’t remember exactly how long into the interview it was but certainly his passion came through right away and hopefully you’ve got a feeling for that here today as well.

“People talk about living and working in Glasgow, working at Rangers, and you need a strong character to deal with that. You need to be someone pretty special to deal with the intensity. We also talked about recruitment and the qualities which Pedro recognises you need in Rangers players if you are going to be successful and take the club forward. It wasn’t one particular thing, but there are things that just come through sometimes when you interview people. Sometimes it can happen quite quickly and you just think “I like the cut of this guy’s jib”.

“But you then have to back it up with your references and take independent views on him. We did a lot of that. I know there has been a bit of criticism over how long it has taken us to do this. But the reality is that to take four weeks for what is the key job at the club, to get the right man, I don’t think is too long. We’ve had some very strong feedback about Pedro and it has all been positive.”

Caixinha is the first key part of Rangers’ extensive restructure, with a new director of football to follow as well as proposed investment in areas such as scouting, recruitment and the playing squad.

Robertson added: “You just have to look at the base that’s here, the potential there is at Rangers. We all know we’re in a rebuilding phase, a transitional phase at the club. A lot of progress is still to be made but what we’ve done, over the last two years, is try to lay foundations and make them more solid, build a base to take us onto the next level.

“That needs good people, people like Pedro. And it needs investment. We know we’re going to have to invest in the team to strengthen the squad and take it forward. So all of these things are there. We need that. Without that, we won’t take the club forward. That investment is going to be a key part of assisting Pedro to take the club forward.”

Caixinha also sought assurances there would be investment before agreeing to take the job but Robertson did not hold that against him. He added: “You would question any potential manager coming into the club who didn’t ask you that question. You are looking for them to ask you quite searching questions to test your mettle and see what you are made of.

“There will be investment there. We always said we would try and win the Championship, which we did, then strengthen the squad. Then we wanted to try and get into Europe and strengthen the squad again. That is still the process. We are going to strengthen the squad but I’m not putting numbers on it.”

Interestingly, Caixinha is yet to speak with Rangers chairman Dave King who yesterday was more occupied with issues relating to his takeover of the club than his new manager. Robertson, though, insisted there was nothing untoward in that.

He explained: “The way we’ve worked it is to have a team of three who were appointed to select the manager. That’s the way we agreed to do it and that’s the way we worked it. There is an executive management team appointed to take it forward. The chairman has delegated that responsibility to us.

“It was up to us to present our recommendations. We are trusted to do it by the club. I don’t know when Pedro and Dave will meet but we will get something organised. It is more important that Pedro spends time getting in amongst the squad and understanding what is happening.”