Derek McInnes wants Rangers to use their free weekend to tie up more summer signings. The Ibrox gaffer is still crying out for more quality additions after his side’s narrow 1-0 Conference League play-off win over FK Jablonec.
Gers toiled to victory over the Czechs which came courtesy of Ryan Naderi’s second-half tap-in. Their next game is the return-leg next Thursday before a tough trip to Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership. And McInnes hopes to strengthen his squad in the next few days so new additions will be ready for Pittodrie.
Transfer targets and McInnes’ confidence
Rangers are chasing Girona winger Kim Min-su and Portland Timbers striker Kevin Kelsy. The manager said: “We'll pick up on that straight after the game, with everybody involved. We're trying in a few different areas to get the right players in, players with the right quality.
“We've been really focused on certain ones. I'm quite hopeful we can do one in the next few days. We're working extremely hard. I do think that having that extra level of pace and quality and invention in the top end of the pitch is going to be massive for us to improve. If we can get that, I'm pretty confident we can. Obviously, anybody signing can't play in the second leg.
“But I do feel before we go to Pittodrie a week on Sunday, we'd like to have a couple of additions in. The club are well aware of that, everybody's trying hard. Clearly, we could do with that. It's been Thursday, Sunday and we haven’t had too much time to work on things. A lot of times we're recovering, but we're trying to take a breath. There's loads to work on.”
Performance and red card analysis
McInnes’ team scraped past FK Jablonec in the first-leg after being reduced to 10 men when Cammy Devlin was sent off. The Gers boss insists their first-half display wasn’t good enough and admits it’s hard to explain a lack of intensity following Sunday’s thumping 5-1 win over St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup.
McInnes said: “I want us to be a team that nobody really likes to play against. There's two sides to that. It’s about how organised and how ferocious you are on the press. And we're getting a lot of that right. But we've also got to be difficult to play against by showing the tempo, the desire to play here, and the confidence. It can look a bit too laboured at times. That's as a team, not just as individuals. We have to be more sure of what we're doing and not just playing in fits and starts.
“Even the goal is an example. Their kick-off happens, they get a corner and we’ve got to defend. So you get the punters up, they're singing, they're getting behind the players, they get the goal, then one or two little wrong errors are and we have to defend the corner. And that brings anxiety. It’s those little things where we need more experience, to be more streetwise way, more smarter. Here, you have to stay on top of the job all the time. I can’t hold people’s hands for 90 minutes. They are going to have to really take a bit of ownership.”
McInnes had no complaints with Devlin’s red card for high tackle on Jablonec’s Jiri Slama - just five minutes after coming on. He said: “Having seen it again, it's a red card. There's no debate. I think it looks a hell of a lot worse than it actually was. Because his leg was up to try and put his body in, it's caught the boy on the shin. It looks terrible. When you see the stills of it, it looks like a red card all day long.”
Confidence for the return leg
McInnes is confident Gers can finish the job in Czech Republic next week. He said: “I just want us to be better. I think we have to be better. Normally in Europe, you don't get through a European tie if you only play well with one leg. We've got to make sure we're as strong as we can be next week, get a stronger performance, and I'm confident we've got enough in us to be able to do that.”
