McInnes’ managerial career assessed

McInnes graphic

McInnes, who has taken charge of more than 800 games, began his coaching career at St Johnstone in 2007 before a stint with Bristol City.

He joined Aberdeen in 2013 and spent eight years at Pittodrie, lifting the League Cup in his first full season and finishing second behind Celtic in the Premiership in four successive campaigns.

After a 10-month break, McInnes returned with Kilmarnock in January 2022, steering the club back to the top flight.

He finished 10th, fourth and ninth in three Premiership terms at Rugby Park before coming close to ending Hearts’ 66-year wait for a fourth title.

Hearts were unbeaten at home in the league last season, with McInnes winning 28 of his 44 matches in all competitions, including three of their four meetings with Rangers and home and away victories over Celtic.

His Ibrox move reunites McInnes with Scotland striker Shankland, who joined Rangers three weeks ago after scoring 20 goals for Hearts last term.

Analysis: McInnes knows every trick in the book

BBC Scotland chief sports writer Tom English

For Rangers, McInnes is a no-brainer, an obvious call.

He’s very experienced, a gnarled pro in Scotland, there’s nothing he doesn’t know about this league. His work ethic is through the roof.

He will be a very good fit for Rangers. They will spend money this summer and I just think it makes sense.

Former Scotland and Hearts manager Craig Levein

Derek managed to keep the players together at Hearts. That’s one of the most difficult things to do – keep everyone happy – and he did it. There was never any noises coming out of Tynecastle of things going on behind the scenes.

He knows the league better than any manager. He’s been at the coalface for a long, long time. He knows every trick in the book and has been successful pretty much everywhere he’s been.

Abrupt end to Rohl’s rollercoaster tenure

Danny Rohl's record at Rangers

Rohl’s Rangers record across all competitions stands at 22 wins, 11 losses and seven draws in 40 fixtures.

Having initially withdrawn from the Rangers running, he had a change of heart and took the job after the club were unable to secure Steven Gerrard or Kevin Muscat.

The German revived Rangers’ fortunes following the reign of Russell Martin, turning the team from mid-table stragglers to title contenders.

However, Rangers wilted post-split as a run of four straight defeats in their final five games wrecked hopes of a first Premiership crown in five years.

Being eliminated from both domestic cups by Old Firm rivals Celtic further heightened fans’ frustrations and turned up the pressure on Rohl.

However, Cavenagh – whose American consortium took control a year ago – moved to quell speculation over the head coach’s future last month amid revealed interest from Wolfsburg and vowed Rohl would oversee a “summer of substantial change”.

Rohl was given funds to bring in four players in January, while Shankland was lured from Hearts last month as a squad reshape beckoned in his first summer in charge.

However, that will now fall to McInnes, with Rangers having wasted no time in their manager hunt with the squad scheduled to return to training this week.

Rangers will enter the Europa League at the third qualifying round stage, a few days after their Premiership opener on the weekend of 1/2 August.

Hearts’ succession planning already under way

Hearts, as Premiership runners-up, will have started their Champions League campaign by then in the second qualifying round and are now searching for their third head coach in 14 months.

They face Sturm Graz over two legs next month.

Confirming McInnes’ departure, the Tynecastle club mentioned: “Derek made it clear that he wished to pursue this opportunity and, following discussions between the clubs, Rangers met the requested compensation terms required to facilitate his departure, along with his assistants Alan Archibald and Paul Sheerin.

“Derek, Alan and Paul leave with our thanks for the contribution they made during their time at Tynecastle. Last season represented an important step forward for the club and they played a valued role in that progress.

“The club’s ambitions, direction and commitment to success remain unchanged.”

Regarding whom might replace McInnes, the club explained: “Succession planning is a continuous process and preparations for this eventuality have already been undertaken.

“A number of candidates have been identified and the process of appointing a new head coach has already begun, with the aim of making the right appointment as swiftly as possible.

“We are committed to appointing a head coach who can drive further improvement, and help deliver the success our supporters expect and deserve.

“There will be no further comment until a new appointment has been made.”

Get in touch

Send us your views on Rangers

Related topics

  • Football
  • Scottish Football
  • Scottish Premiership
  • Rangers
  • Heart of Midlothian

More on this story

  • Ex-Rangers boss Martin appointed as Leicester manager
    • Published
      1 day ago
    Russell Martin poses for a picture after being named the new Leicester City manager in 2026
  • Visit our Rangers page for all the newest news, analysis and fan views
    Rangers entrance gates
  • Get Rangers news notifications in the BBC Sport app
    • Published
      18 June 2023
    Football Habit ad

✔ today silver rate

✔ 2026 winter olympics

✔ chat gtp

✔ silver rate today

✔ silver rate today live

✔ 2030 winter olympics

Read More

Sports

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *