Derek McInnes has 'mental toughness' to cope with Ibrox pressure cooker as Rangers boss gets distinguished backing
A highly respected former Premier League boss has thrown his support behind the new Rangers manager amid a difficult start to his reign
Derek McInnes has been backed to overcome a challenging start to his reign as Rangers manager by a highly respected former English Premier League manager.
If the ex-Hearts boss wasn’t already aware of the demands at Ibrox, he certainly does now after following up a disappointing 1-1 draw at Dundee United in their Scottish Premiership curtain-raiser last Friday with a 2-1 defeat to Jagiellonia Bialystok in Poland in their Europa League third round qualifier on Thursday night.
And Tony Pulis, who bossed Stoke City, Crystal Palace and West Brom during a lengthy career in the dugout, believes McInnes has received an early wake up call after getting his Gers era off to a less than convincing start.
“Taking the Rangers job means stepping straight into the pressure cooker,” Pulis told Midnite. “But if anyone has the pedigree, character, and experience to thrive in that environment, it is Derek McInnes.
“That opening day draw gives him an immediate taste of the intense expectations at the club, but he is far too seasoned a manager to panic. He knows the Scottish game inside out, and he will use that early result to assess where they need to strengthen and get his ideas across.
“Derek did a fabulous job during his time at Hearts, proving how good he is at building a structured, winning side. That track record makes him a fantastic fit for Rangers, bringing the proven authority and stability they need after a period of turnover in the dugout.
“At a club like Rangers, it ultimately comes down to winning football matches, and Derek gets that completely. The supporters demand success week in, week out, and while the Old Firm battles with Celtic are always a toss of a coin, Derek has the mental toughness and tactical know-how to handle that heat.
“He is a proper football man who knows what it takes to get results, and he is as good an appointment as Rangers could have wished for to get them pushing for silverware again.”
What Derek McInnes said after Jagiellonia 2 Rangers 1
McInnes felt his new-look side were architects of their own downfall after blowing the lead against Jagiellonia in Poland. They must overcome a 2-1 first leg deficit next week to reach the Europa League play-off round.
“There’s no pleasure in that for us tonight,” McInnes reflected. “We lost two goals that were clearly mistakes. We got off to a good start, securing the middle of the pitch and playing around their shape. It was exactly what we wanted, putting stress on their full-backs to defend and we got a break with the goal.
“We were in charge of it then looked accomplished. But we managed to beat ourselves. I’ve said that to the players. That’s no disrespect to Jagiellonia. They showed what they are, a counter-attack team with pace to take advantage of sloppiness and a lack of concentration.
“I’m not going to watch us all season given up so many chances. We can’t lost the ball on the edge of their box and it ends up with a chance for them. There are a lot of bad habits carrying on from last season. That’s down to talking, organisation and closing the back door before the fire becomes bigger.
“The situation became too stressful for us too many times. It’s about a loss of concentration. Too often, we were slow on the uptake and didn’t do our defensive work well enough.”