100 days into the job, Derek McInnes has taken Rangers from an early slump and European elimination to six straight wins and two Old Firm derby victories. The change has been quick, even if the start was rough enough to draw real noise around Ibrox. Rangers are now second in the Premiership, two points behind Celtic.
The start of the job
McInnes was announced as Rangers manager on 17 June, replacing the departed Danny Rohl. His first weeks were not smooth. Rangers failed to qualify for European football for the first time in a decade, and the campaign ended on 26 August with a penalty shoot-out defeat by Jablonec. McInnes said at the time, "I'm embarrassed with the performance," and later added that he understood the fan frustration.
He also did not try to dress up the scale of the rebuild. "There is a lot of hard work ahead," he said, and that lined up with the first month of the job more than the recent run has done.
Rangers' recent run
The picture now looks very different. Rangers have won their last six matches, with two of those coming in the Old Firm. McInnes said after the latest win, "There are obviously loads we have to improve on, but we have to keep winning while we are looking for those improvements." He also felt his side were "far more like the Rangers team I want us to be."
The league numbers back up the swing. Rangers have won five of their seven Premiership matches, drawn one and lost one. They have scored eight and conceded four. That has moved them into second place, where they sit on 16 points after seven games, two behind Celtic on 18.
McInnes said after the early slump that Rangers were "not as bad as people think," and the recent results have at least given that argument more weight. The bigger question is whether this level holds when the run cools, but the first 100 days have already turned a nervous start into something much more stable.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
