Derek McInnes has told his Rangers squad it is time they started living up to their responsibility to deliver silverware at Ibrox.
The new Gers gaffer has taken over a club that has won just one league title and two cups in the last 15 years. But they can take a huge step towards adding another trophy to the cabinet on Sunday when they square up to Martin O’Neill’s Celtic in the last eight of the Premier Sports Cup.
The Light Blues have home advantage at Ibrox, while the Hoops will have to cross Glasgow without the backing of their fans after SPFL chiefs barred travelling supporters from attending this year’s Old Firm showdowns.
McInnes demands domestic relevance
Now McInnes wants to see his players make full use of that one-sided support and ensure Gers’ days of being considered also-rans are over.
He said: “We need to be more relevant domestically as a club. We haven't been. We've had sporadic cup wins and one league title.
“I understand the nature of the business and we all sign up for it.
“When we come here, we all have the responsibility, players, staff alike, that we're here to deliver silverware and if we don't, we won't be here long.
“For me, it's something we have to try and grasp and work towards and not be daunted by.
“Working for Rangers gives you great opportunities and we see this as a brilliant opportunity on Sunday to take a step closer to silverware.”
Derby record under scrutiny
McInnes knows that his job satisfaction score at Ibrox will ultimately be judged on how many trophies he can secure. But the derby head-to-heads will also have a major say in his approval rating.
Last year at Hearts, he won three out of four capital city battles with Hibs and he’s hoping to carry on that impressive Edinburgh ratio at the other end of the M8.
“It's the same in any derby, people will scrutinise your record,” he accepted. “I had the same conversations last season. Hearts managers don't normally survive if they can't win derbies.
“Obviously, this is a bigger fixture and the spotlight is on.
“This one coming up is a cup tie. You’ve still got two ties afterwards to win to win a trophy so it doesn't guarantee anything, but I do think it gives you a bit of credit in the bank if you can win these games.
“Obviously if you don't win them then there's just a bit more scrutiny on you.
“But listen, I know what I signed up for.
“I know the job requires you to be the best team in Glasgow, to be the best team in Scotland and hopefully we can do that.”
Penalty preparation and new signing
McInnes hopes he’s finally got his side on a roll after Wednesday’s late, late show against St Mirren clinched a fourth win on the spin.
But it’s only two and a half weeks since the former Ibrox midfielder was left clinging onto his dream job when a disastrous defeat on penalties to Jablonec consigned Rangers to a humiliating double European exit.
McInnes admits he chose not to put too much emphasis on spot-kicks heading into the decisive second-leg in Czechia. But he’s made sure to prepare his men fully this time round having watched Gers suffer shoot-out agony against Celts in last year’s controversial Scottish Cup clash.
He said: “Before Jablonec, we did prepare for it in a roundabout way, we always take some penalties.
“I think it's important to keep an eye on it and in light of recent fixtures there's been a lot of fine margins.
“So we will set up and practice some penalties.
“Hopefully we're good enough to win it in 90 minutes but I think you need to prepare for every eventuality.
“I think if you're playing a certain cup tie and you're strong favourites, then you wouldn’t want to send that message out to your players that this might go to penalties.
“In this kind of game where there are two strong teams and it might be a tight game, then I think it's certainly professional to do it.”
Meanwhile, McInnes insists new signing Vanja Dragojevic still has a big part to play this term despite having been sidelined since that Jablonec shocker.
He said: “We have settled in recent weeks on a system.
“The same back four, same midfield two. Some form of three behind a main striker or a front two of some sort.
“We're just trying to find a bit of consistency of selection and consistency of results, which we've seen.
“But we have full belief in Vanja and we believe that he's going to be a player with a big future.”
