With less than two weeks to go before the launch of a new Scottish top-flight campaign, neither Martin O’Neill nor Derek McInnes can be sitting particularly comfortably right now. The coming season’s expected main protagonists may be squaring up to a raft of very different issues on either side of the River Clyde as well as being at opposite ends of the managerial spectrum where their career paths are concerned.
O'Neill's experience vs McInnes's urgency
O’Neill has been around the block and back again as Celtic’s manager since the turn of the century even if he’s been less than one year back in the job, albeit shoehorned in on an emergency basis. McInnes doesn't have that same luxury of previous achievements and silver in the bank. He’s in a rush to make a solid first impression at Rangers while O’Neill will turn 75 in March and will pretty much get to determine when his own race at Celtic has been run.
Unless, of course, at some point between now and then he should suddenly lose patience with the absentee landlord and principal shareholder who talked him into replacing the unruly Brendan Rodgers in the first place. But, barring what would be an entirely unexpected falling out with old pal Dermot Desmond, it does look as if the veteran boss will bide his time in the position, secure in the knowledge that he’ll step away from it at a time of his choosing.
Rangers' rebuild under McInnes
McInnes, on the other hand, has probably realised already that his clock is ticking a great deal more rapidly in the race to win over the hearts and minds of a Rangers support which has been running on the fumes of its own patience for some considerable time. He only needs to glance at the smoking carnage in the club’s rear view mirror - and the recently mangled reputations of the likes of Philippe Clement, Russell Martin and Danny Rohl - to work that one out for himself.
None of this is his fault, of course. But he’ll have taken this task on and settled into the blocks knowing full well that he cannot be seen to get off to the same sort of false start. There is then, no time for him to waste. McInnes has been backed into a solid enough start. When Vanja Dragojevic completes a £4.5m move from Partisan Belgrade, as he should do this week, the highly rated young Serb will become the new man’s seventh signing in the space of a few weeks.
And yet there is a great deal still to be done in the transfer market before McInnes has any kind of clear idea or certainty what he is working with in his first season back at Ibrox. He’ll have assessed that, given what has gone before, he’ll be given two windows to whip his squad into championship winning shape. Right now, he must be looking around a bloated Auchenhowie training base wondering how much of this work can be done before the end of next month, never mind before next Friday’s league opener away at Dundee United. Too many bodies and too much dead wood remain as the relics of previous badly planned rebuilds.
Nico Raskin's uncertain future
Then there’s the question of what happens next with Nico Raskin, a hugely talented player with two years left on his current contract and a market value which will have peaked on the back of an impressive World Cup with Belgium. It makes perfect sense that Rangers should be looking to maximise Raskin’s value and the player will have his ambitions to test himself in one of Europe’s top leagues. All of which means the time does indeed feel right for his sale to be sanctioned and for McInnes to get to play with some of the profit.
But Raskin will not be rushed out of the door and into accepting a move which he feels doesn’t measure up to his own talent. He’s already given Premier League news boys Hull City the cold shoulder while his agents attempt to bring something bigger and better to the table. Hull would have been willing and able to meet Rangers’ asking price, even though it’s likely to be astronomical in Scottish terms. But none of that matters if the player himself has no appetite for joining the club making the offer. And right now, despite reported strong interest from La Liga outfit Villareal, Raskin remains in limbo.
Unless these circumstances should suddenly be resolved then Raskin too will return to meet up with McInnes and, while that’s a headache any manager could live with, it adds to the air of uncertainty heading into the new season. McInnes needs to recruit at least one central defender to add to his options. He most certainly requires competition for Tuur Rommens at left back and possibly - given Dujon Sterling’s medical track record - he may feel he needs another right back too.
While Dan Neil, Cammy Devlin and Dragojevic will offer a freshness to his midfield and Lawrence Shankland, Yousef Chermitti and Bojan Miovski will compete for places up front, his side is crying out for upgrades in the wide attacking areas, particularly for the as yet unsolved and long running issue on the right flank. Even with chairman Andrew Cavenagh’s deep pockets and enthusiastic backing, that all adds up to a big ask, especially with opening night at Tannadice coming into view.
Celtic's transfer woes
O’Neill’s situation is just as clouded and probably even more critical. Because while McInnes awaits clarity on Raskin, the Celtic boss is waiting to discover what the future holds for key men Daizen Maeda, Arnie Engles and Reo Hatate, while doubts remain over whether or not skipper Callum McGregor has been convinced to hang around. While Raskin is reserving the right to be selective, Maeda has made it clear he’ll take just about anything he can get even if that means a relegation battle at Ipswich.
So big names and key players are jostling for a way out and that’s after emptying out a long list of fringe men and loanees who weren’t deemed by O’Neill to be reliable enough last season. O’Neill has the benefit of a few extra days of breathing space before his title defence begins at home to Dundee on Monday August 3 and could add German midfielder Mika Baur to his ranks before then. But right now, with only Camilo Duran added to the ranks, he has every right to feel as if his own much needed summer rebuild has been abandoned by Desmond and the rest of the club’s hierarchy.
So far, it’s been more of a no show than a go slow and quite frankly, at his age, O’Neill doesn’t have the time for this procrastination and inexcusable lack of urgency. Yes, he may have a wealth of experience behind him as well as a recent League and Cup double from last season, but none of that makes him a miracle worker. With time fast running out for both of these managers ahead of next weekend, it seems that each of them is already destined to open up hostilities while overseeing a work in progress.
