Derek McInnes has put the focus back on himself after Rangers lost their Conference League play-off to FK Jablonec and failed to qualify for Europe. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "I am a good manager, I back myself." The start has been rough, but he is trying to frame it as a problem to be solved rather than a judgement passed too early.

McInnes' response to the pressure

He has not tried to pretend the start is comfortable. "I'm not the first Rangers manager to get off to a tough start, but we are determined to follow this job through and it's the end that counts," he told the Daily Record. He also said: "I still believe we're going to be a success here, but we need to try and give a bit more encouragement to the supporters to buy into and get behind."

The football itself has done little to help him. Rangers are winless in the league across the two matches referenced here, and they are five points behind Celtic after just two league games. Their recent run reads D-L-L-D-W, with a draw against Jagiellonia, a league loss to Hibernian, a loss in Poland to Jagiellonia, a draw at Dundee United and a win over Falkirk.

Aberdeen is the immediate test

The European exit carries its own sting. McInnes said Rangers had "wasted an opportunity to qualify for the group stages", and Sky Sports reported that the club will be without European football for the first time since 2017. The Daily Record put that absence differently, saying it would be the first time in nine years. Either way, the point is the same, Rangers have no European safety net now.

Sunday's trip to Aberdeen is the first place that response has to show up. McInnes said: "But we can't dwell on it now, it's done. I know football, you've got to get ready to go again and obviously a huge game on Sunday for us." He added that Rangers have not had their best recent record at Pittodrie.

Aberdeen are in better shape than Rangers' league position suggests, with a run of L-W-W-W-W and two league wins already this season. Rangers need a result at Pittodrie, not another speech about patience, and McInnes knows that Sunday's game will tell supporters more than any quote has so far.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →