Barring caretakers, Derek McInnes had already made the worst start of any Rangers manager after three games – now it has stretched to four.
It is no surprise many of the home fans were walking away long before the final whistle in Thursday’s Europa League third qualifying round tie against Jagiellonia Bialystok, even though there was still the chance of a late goal taking it into extra time.
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This time last season, Rangers made a stumbling start under Russell Martin from which he never recovered, with the axe falling in early October.
McInnes is now the man who must deliver for an expectant fanbase – but after a 1-1 draw on the night resulted in a 3-2 aggregate defeat, is he already under pressure? And what is going wrong at Ibrox?
Rangers ‘not ready’ for Europa League
McInnes insists that, despite millions spent on nine additions to his squad already this summer, they are still short of the necessary quality.
“The club is built for the Champions League and Europa League, but I don’t think the team is ready for it and it pains me to say it,” he said.
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“We need to get more quality, we need to get more confidence into the team.
“That is the job I came into Rangers to do. Rangers finishing third last season, what was served up wasn’t good enough. We have to get things moving in the right way quickly.
“Jagiellonia are a decent team with some good players and I think they’re well coached, but Rangers at their best should be winning this.”
McInnes thinks it is a continuation of the problems experienced at the end of last season – the inability to deliver a 90-minute performance.
Asked about the team being booed off at the end, he said: “I think it was justified, to be honest. What we served up in the second half was not good enough.
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“In the four games we’ve had, there’s been some good moments, but it’s not been good enough and certainly not a strong enough 90-minute performance.
“It is not great to watch. My team go from some good highs in the first half to being as poor as we were in the second half and you have to say we didn’t do enough.”
Did McInnes get tactics wrong?
McInnes conceded Rangers lost control of the game after the break, when he replaced Thelo Aasgaard with full-back Ross McCrorie and moved from three at the back to four.
The Ibrox boss argued the Norway midfielder was “not getting involved enough” and he thought the change of shape would help his wingers become “more involved higher up the pitch”.
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However, former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday said on BBC Radio Scotland’s Sportsound: “The reasoning makes sense, but it didn’t work, it’s as simple as that.
“The only thing I would challenge about that is I thought [Djeidi] Gassama and [Daisuke] Yokota got loads of the ball relatively high up in the first half.
“They lost all control without that extra body in midfield.”
Shankland misfiring, lack of creativity & character
Thursday’s defeat – which drops Rangers into a Conference League play-off against Czechs Jablonec – comes on the back of the nightmare news Youssef Chermiti was ruled out with a long-term knee injury just after Rangers rejected a big-money bid for the 22-year-old.
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It means Rangers have had to set their sights on recruiting a new striker in addition to the wingers and defenders McInnes had already targeted. He says the club are “working so hard to get the necessary type of players”, with PSV Eindhoven winger Couhaib Driouech set to be the latest arrival.
Halliday thinks the squad “shouldn’t be that imbalanced this late into the transfer window” and reckons they need “three centre-halves, one left-back, two, arguably, three wingers”.
“But the current squad that’s available should be enough to beat Dundee United, it should be enough to beat Hibs and, to be honest, it should be enough to beat Jagiellonia Bialystok,” he said.
Rangers were obviously hoping reuniting McInnes with Lawrence Shankland would be a winning formula after they went so close to wrenching the title away from Celtic while at Hearts last season.
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However, former Rangers striker Steven Thompson thinks Shankland is already finding out the extra pressure he faces as the club’s new captain.
“It’s the weight of playing for Rangers, the weight of not having the start that he wanted, and the weight of taking a bad touch,” he said.
“At previous clubs, if you take a bad touch and give it away, you might get a few pelters. Here tonight, when Lawrence Shankland’s link-up play wasn’t that good or he should’ve had a shot when he didn’t, they are on you and it is going to take him a bit to get used to that I think. It’s not physical, it’s mental.”
Halliday is so concerned about the lack of leadership – and problems at right-back – he called on Rangers to bring back 34-year-old former captain James Tavernier, who remains a free agent after being released this summer.
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“It’s not going to be popular, but the first thing Rangers should do in terms of recruitment is phone James Tavernier tomorrow,” he said.
“He’s an upgrade straight away. We are talking about the ability to play under pressure, to not be afraid to make mistakes and try to create a different – that’s James Tavernier.
“Everybody’s talking about this new leadership group and new character – and to me it’s the ability to play under that scrutiny. He never hid from that scrutiny.”
What are the Rangers fans saying?
Simon: I wanted to give a manager time, but I’d cut my losses and get rid of McInnes now. Never thought he was the man for this job – and he’s proving me right, big time. Spending a fortune and making us much worse.
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Alan: No more excuses. McInnes is proving that he is not up to the job.
Jonny: Folk saying McInnes should be sacked need to calm down. Look at the squad. Who would do well with it? Give the man time. He’ll sort us in time.
Kris: Has McInnes had a match for Rangers yet where his side haven’t been booed off the park?
Alex: I foresee another trophyless season ahead for Rangers – no cohesion, no fight, no skill, nothing. Rangers are woeful.
Kevin: Rangers look as a bad as they did under Mark Warburton in the Championship. In fact, that team would thump this one.
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