Derek McInnes must win the Premiership title to keep his job as Rangers manager, according to Hugh Keevins, writing in the Daily Record. The Rangers boss faces an uphill battle to restore his reputation after a humiliating Europa League exit to Czech side Jablonec.
European exit deepens crisis
Rangers' hopes of European football were ended by a "gross act of self harm" in the Czech Republic. The club's backers, 49ers Enterprises, are now presiding over a "lavishly-funded flop," with McInnes lacking the trust of most supporters, just like the Americans who have spent tens of millions to improve the team — and somehow made it worse.
The investment must be justified by tangible reward, but the side and management, on and off the field, stagger from one mortifying moment to the next. Rangers finished 10 points behind Celtic, who by common consent had an awful campaign. In the Europa League qualifiers, they lost to Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok at the earliest point since Pedro Caixinha in 2017 lost to Progres Niederkorn.
That was supposed to be the worst result in Rangers' history, but McInnes will now forever be associated with a rival Hall of Shame entry after exiting to Jablonec. The road back to acceptance will be a lengthy one after Thursday night, if he ever makes that destination.
Fans denied bragging rights
What will outrage the Ibrox fans more than anything is they had a golden opportunity to rub salt into the gaping wounds of Celtic fans smarting from their team's failure to qualify for the Champions League in grotesque circumstances against LASK in Austria. In the Old Firm's world of reverse psychology, the worse the other lot perform on the park, the better their perked-up rivals are supposed to become — supposed being the operative word.
McInnes will be held personally accountable for denying his own supporters bragging rights over the team across the city. On the day of his unveiling as Rangers' manager, he said in the Blue Room at Ibrox that his job was to make Rangers relevant once again. The word has never sounded more hollow in the wake of a bewilderingly awful display against a side who would be delighted to be called non-entities. Jablonec were on the lamentable side of limited yet beat Rangers in a fairly comfortable fashion.
Aberdeen test looms
Tomorrow's game at Aberdeen is historically a yardstick for Rangers. It's a fixture when we find out who among the visitors has the character, determination and intensity to live with the demands of the day. McInnes will start the afternoon behind Celtic in the league table. If his side is not closer by time-up, the pressure he is under will have grown considerably.
Rangers continue to rack up new signings paid for by significant withdrawals from the bank. Incredibly, the side who lost to Jablonec cost £30m to assemble. There's no European money now to help balance the books at Ibrox. There is a school of thought that being spared European fixture congestion strengthens Rangers' bid to win the domestic title. That had better be the case or else McInnes will be unemployed between now and next May.
