Derek McInnes has been appointed as the new Rangers manager on a three-year contract, with former Ibrox striker Kris Boyd hailing the move as “a long time coming” and insisting the 54-year-old is the right man to lead the club back to success.
The 54-year-old replaces Danny Röhl, who departed for RB Salzburg after less than eight months at the helm. McInnes arrives at Ibrox having guided Hearts to a stunning second-place finish in the Scottish Premiership last season, eight points clear of Rangers and pushing the title race to the final day.
A Long Time Coming
McInnes’s appointment marks the sixth permanent head coach at Rangers since Steven Gerrard, the last man to deliver a league title to Ibrox, left in 2021. It is also the first time the club has directly hired from another Scottish top-flight side since Alex McLeish’s move from Hibernian in 2001.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Boyd, who scored over 100 goals for Rangers, said:
It's been a long time coming. I'm absolutely delighted he's managed to get the job and he'll be looking forward to the upcoming season. He was very unlucky last year, he's shown that he is a good operator in Scottish football and Rangers are hoping he can continue to improve.
McInnes famously turned down the chance to manage Rangers in 2017 while in charge of Aberdeen, opting to stay at Pittodrie for another four years. He later won promotion with Kilmarnock and restored them to the European places before his transformative spell at Hearts.
Right Man for Rangers
Boyd, now a prominent pundit, believes McInnes’s track record in Scottish football and his strength of conviction make him ideally suited for the pressure-cooker environment at Ibrox.
I think we have a tendency in Scottish football to overlook our coaches. When you look at what Derek has done, even his Aberdeen team caused problems to Celtic for a number of years. He built something at Aberdeen, you only need to look at what was there before him and then what's happened after, and that stability he had at Aberdeen. He went to Hearts, and nobody thought Hearts were going to throw down the challenge they did and finish second.
There's been a lot made of Jamestown Analytics and rightly so, but he stuck to his principles a lot of the time when you look at his team, the way he set up and the way he went about the business. It tells me he's confident in his own ability, he's not depending on anybody else. When you become the Rangers manager you need rhino skin, because you're going to be criticised right, left and centre – but you also have to have strong beliefs in what you're trying to implement. Over a period of time, Derek McInnes has been able to do that sort of thing.
Big Summer Ahead
Rangers’ summer rebuild is already under way, with new CEO Jim Gillespie, technical director Dan Purdy and consultant Stig Inge Bjørnebye working alongside the coaching staff. The first confirmed signing is Scotland international Lawrence Shankland, who joined from Hearts on a two-year deal with an option for a further 12 months.
Veteran captain James Tavernier, the highest-scoring right-back of all time, has left the club after 11 years, marking the end of an era. Boyd stressed the scale of the task facing McInnes.
I think he's got a big summer ahead of him because Rangers do need a squad overhaul. They do need to get a good five or six players into it. Derek has always made the best of the funds he's had available, he's been able to get and build a squad wherever he's been that has been able to challenge deep into the season. He has shown that he can recruit players that give him and his team the best opportunity to win games and he'll be hoping to continue that theme at Rangers.
Can McInnes Bring Back Success?
Rangers have won just one Scottish Premiership title since 2011, along with one Scottish Cup and one League Cup in the same period. Boyd, who earned six domestic honours during his playing days at Ibrox, is hopeful McInnes can end the drought.
Rangers are still a huge football club, they underperformed last season and we're hoping that Derek McInnes is a man to take them back to winning trophies on a regular basis.
McInnes himself stated: “It is a real honour to become the manager of Rangers.” He will be assisted by Alan Archibald, Paul Sheerin and Craig Clark as he seeks to restore the club to the summit of Scottish football.
Key Takeaways
- Derek McInnes signs a three-year deal as Rangers’ sixth permanent manager since Steven Gerrard left in 2021.
- Kris Boyd believes McInnes’s self-belief, Scottish football expertise, and recruitment skills make him the ideal appointment.
- McInnes turned down the Rangers job in 2017 while at Aberdeen, but now arrives after dragging Hearts into a title race.
- Rangers need a major squad overhaul, with Lawrence Shankland already signed and James Tavernier departed.
- Boyd warns the new boss will need “rhino skin” to handle the intense pressure at Ibrox.
Quick Facts
Appointment: Derek McInnes as Rangers manager
Contract: Three years
Previous club: Hearts (Scottish Premiership runners-up)
Replaces: Danny Röhl (now at RB Salzburg)
First signing: Lawrence Shankland from Hearts