Rangers

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Couhaib Driouech says he is sorry to have missed "a great step" after the late collapse of his proposed move to Rangers, revealing he had mentally made the switch from PSV Eindhoven before the deal broke down.

The 24-year-old winger was at Ibrox to watch the second leg of Rangers' Europa League defeat by Jagiellonia Bialystok last Thursday.

However, an injury issue led Rangers to withdraw their interest.

"It was a roller coaster of emotions, but I am back," said Driouech, addressing the saga for the first time in an interview with ESPN. "I think there was a disagreement between the doctors.

"I had a small tear in my thigh. I think it was made worse because I took a knock to the knee that week, and that turned into a hematoma.

"But I feel good and I am back on the pitch. I have no influence on what they decided there.

"I would have considered it a great step. It's a shame, but I'm also happy to be back.

"You're basically already there in your head. You already see yourself playing in a different kit, but it's not the first time this has happened to me. It sucks, but that's just how it is."

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James Penrice hopes to capitalise on an impressive debut performance by making the starting Rangers left-back spot his own.

The 27-year-old was signed on loan from AEK Athens on Saturday and featured in Derek McInnes' XI 24 hours later with Tuur Rommens out injured.

The former Hearts defender went on to score and assist in the 5-1 League Cup last-16 victory over St Mirren, setting up a quarter-final with Celtic.

"[Rommens] is obviously injured and I'm coming in to play," Penrice said.

"I want to keep performing and that's kind of where I am. I want to make the jersey my own and hopefully I can do that."

Penrice revealed he was upset when a proposed move to Ibrox last winter failed to materialise.

However, the former Rangers academy player, who is a boyhood fan of the club, is thrilled to finally be back in Govan.

"January was close, it didn't happen for a number of reasons and I ended up staying and winning the league with AEK," Penrice added.

"When I had heard there was a sniff this window, it was all I wanted. I pushed like mad and then I've got to say thank you to AEK as well because they made it happen.

"You kind of get doubts [about it happening]. I was quite upset it didn't happen in January, I'm not shying away from that.

"But as soon as I found out in the summer there was a chance, as I said, I pushed like mad and it was the only thing I wanted."

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James Penrice is very likely to be added to Rangers' European squad, with room for one more addition before Wednesday's midnight deadline.

Rangers take on Czech side Jablonec for a place in the Conference League, with the first leg at Ibrox on Thursday.

The initial squad had to be registered on Friday, the day a loan agreement for AEK full-back Penrice was finalised.

The 27-year-old turned in a impressive display on his debut, scoring and providing an assist in Sunday's 5-1 demolition of St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup.

Ross McCausland, who scored on his return as a substitute at the weekend, is included, as is centre-half Ben Godfrey, who has missed four games through injury.

The squad is supplemented by a B-list of homegrown talent, which includes Scotland winger Findlay Curtis.

Youssef Chermiti and Tuur Rommens are currently sidelined for Derek McInnes's side, while Scotland defender John Souttar is again overlooked.

Rangers squad

Goalkeepers: Pandur, Kelly, Munn

Defenders: McCrorie, Godfrey, Nsiala, Sterling, Makhanya, Fernandez

Midfielders: Neil, Barron, Aasgaard, Devlin, Cameron, Yokota, Gassama, Dragojevic, Chukwuani, Raskin

Forwards: Shankland, Naderi, Miovski, McCausland

Jamie Currie
Fan writer

It's been another shambolic week at Rangers - is it ever anything else?

Thursday night's embarrassing Europa League exit is fully on Derek McInnes. The half-time substitution and change of shaped killed any chance of qualification.

Giving up the midfield in Europe isn't the move of an experienced manager, it's a rookie mistake.

I feel the comments after it - blaming the players and suggesting they weren't ready for that level - was a bit of self-preservation. Clearly, the two legs and McInnes' tactical choices proved he's not ready to manage at that level.

Then we have the Couhaib Driouech debacle. It's a shame because he would have been a quality addition. It remains to be seen in the rest of the window whehter we can attract players of that level.

On a brighter note, Sunday was much better. Going with three in the middle of the park helped get control, who'd have thought it? And James Penrice and Djeidi Gassama were excellent on the left-hand side.

Vanja Dragojevic and Nico Raskin were superb and with Ryan Naderi in attack, despite his flaws, his pressing was good and the whole front six was much more fluid and less static.

Also, I'm pleased the manager wasn't against dropping his two Hearts boys. We looked far better for it.

Hopefully we see more attacking players arrive before the Conference League squad deadline and we can put in a good performance on Thursday night in the play-off.

It's been a terrible start to the season, but we have to kick on from here.

Consistency of shape and selection has to come from Sunday. Better players will obviously help if we can get them in the door. One game at a time and let's see how we deal with an in-form Jablonec side next.

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Rangers are set to sign Aston Villa right-back Kosta Nedeljkovic, 20, on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy based on appearances. The Athletic - subscription required, external

Forward Kevin Kelsy, 22, is believed to be keen on a move from Portland Timbers to Rangers, with talks under way. Teamtalk, external

Bologna and Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson, 26, says a move to Rangers will "definitely happen if I get the chance" at some stage of his career. Scottish Sun, external

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Vanja Dragojevic is relishing the chance to play in "maybe the biggest derby on earth" when Rangers host Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup next month.

The 20-year-old midfielder has previously played in Belgrade's 'Eternal Derby' for Partizan, but has been told the Old Firm could surpass that experience.

Dragojevic scored his first Rangers goal in Sunday's League Cup win over St Mirren, setting up a quarter-final clash against their Glasgow rivals.

"We're really happy that [the Celtic cup tie] will happen," Dragojevic said.

"It's too far away to think about because we have a game on Thursday, we will focus on that. But when I spoke with lots of players before I came here, everyone said this is maybe the biggest derby on earth. And maybe the craziest one – in a positive way. So I'm really happy that I have the privilege to be part of it and maybe play in it.

"I played in three or four Belgrade derbies. It was really hard and fired up. In Serbia, it's not just about the football. It's really about much more than this. But I like this. I'm really happy here and I want to have the privilege to play in this one.

"I enjoy it here. This is a great country, with great people. I'm surprised how warm the people are here. When I came to the club it was so easy to adapt. Everyone in the city is so nice. I'm feeling really happy here. I'm looking forward to doing everything I can for this club."

Rangers fans, we asked for your views following Sunday's win over St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup - Derek McInnes' first victory in charge.

Here's what some of you said:

James: Bright start for James Penrice and I am sure he will be a good player for Rangers. As a team, a good result, but one performance does not make them world beaters, consistent performances are needed, more players need to step up and perform. Central defender and a striker are needed, Emmanuel Fernandez looked disinterested, he needs to improve his attitude during the game.

Alexander: Defence still shaky especially Fernandez. Penrice was exceptional which helped Djeidi Gassama who had his best game for a while. McInnes still needs further improvement in defence especially at right back and upfront. I fear Celtic may be to strong for us in the quarter-final as they look more settled as a team.

Tim: St Mirren allowed us to play with three or four players high up the pitch. This gave us a lot of space to break into and we punished them. Most teams won't be as generous when they come to Ibrox. I would like to see us break down the low blocks and packed defences which we will face most weeks. Still, 5-1 will do me all day long.

Marc: A huge relief and a great win! Confidence and ruthlessness in front of goal is what we require in every game. Now we can go into Thursday's game with real purpose.

Matthew: The energy and desire to get forward was finally there! The major difference was that players looked like they wanted to get on the ball in forward positions, and wanted to create chances. Overloading the box with options worked a treat, instead of having an isolated striker looking defeated for most of the game with no support. More of this please!

Rangers and Celtic are set for another Ibrox cup showdown, but this time there will be no increased away allocation when they meet in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals. (Daily Record), external

Read Monday's Scottish football gossip

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Rangers head coach Derek McInnes tells Premier Sports: "We got off to a flyer at the start of the second half, get the third goal, score a couple more.

"We gave up a couple of chances which we weren't too pleased about but there was a good attacking threat from the team. The players deserved that moment today against a St Mirren team who have been doing well.

"James [Penrice] comes here with a freshness. He just goes and plays the game with real enthusiasm but he's also got quality. His quality of defending was good, his decision-making, his energy, he sees what it means to play for the club. The more players we can get like that the better. I'm really glad the club allowed us to bring him in."

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James Penrice scored and assisted on his debut as Derek McInnes' Rangers alleviated concerns about an early-season crisis by dispatching holders St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup last 16.

Have your say on the game

Read our match report

Club Brugge are pursuing Rangers' injured left-back Tuur Rommens, who only joined the Ibrox club last winter. (Sacha Tavolieri on X), external

New signing James Penrice is convinced he is ready to play under pressure at Rangers after sealing a loan move to Ibrox. (Scottish Sun), external

Former Rangers loanee Mikey Moore made his mark in the Tottenham first team by scoring a double in Spurs' pre-season win over Hoffenheim. (Scottish Sun), external

Read Saturday's Scottish football gossip

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Rangers have "work to do" in their Premier Sports Cup second-round meeting with St Mirren, says manager Derek McInnes.

The Paisley side won three out of four of their League Cup group stage games and have opened their Scottish Premiership account with two wins out of two.

"I've watched them in the last couple of games," said McInnes of Craig McLeish's visitors. "They've changed how they want to play this season.

"They've had two strong performances. They'll come here confident on the back of a couple of wins, qualifying for the League Cup through the group stages.

"We've got work to do and we need our full attention. Particularly where we are at the minute.

"We could just do with winning a game and getting a wee bit of confidence into the lads and getting a wee bit more optimism into the support."

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

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Former Rangers head coach Danny Rohl says "nobody can prepare" for taking over the Ibrox hotseat as he looks back on his time in Glasgow.

It's been almost two months since the German head coach left Rangers to join Austrian side RB Salzburg and was replaced by former Hearts head coach Derek McInnes.

McInnes has endured a tough start to life in Glasgow and after four games is still yet to lead his new team to a victory.

Rohl, who joined when Rangers were 13 points off the top of the table last term, knows all about the difficulties when things are going well in Glasgow's south side.

"Consistency, this is the most important thing," he told BBC Sport.

"The environment is really demanding.

"Everyone who goes there, it doesn't matter if it's a manager, a player, a staff member, you have to understand this club is demanding and this creates a lot of pressure on people to make the right decisions.

"Nobody can prepare [for] this step. I cannot speak for the new manager but you can't prepare. You have to be there and if you are there, then you really feel what it means."

Rohl has enjoyed a positive start to life in Austria.

Thursday's Europa League comeback in Pafos - coming from 2-0 down to draw 3-3 and progress 4-3 on aggregate - ensured Salzburg reached the Europa League play-off round against Sweden's Mjallby.

They go to WSG Tirol on Sunday having collected four points from their opening two matches - a win over Hartberg and a frustrating 1-1 draw at Wolfsberg, where Salzburg dominated.

And the 37-year-old is enjoying a little more anonymity in his new role.

"You can't compare, especially in Glasgow - it's all about football," said Rohl, who speaks with affection for Rangers and Wednesday. "Let's look just how many podcasts you have after every game. So many opinions.

"Here you are a part of the city. You have loyal supporters but you will have not these [fan] handshakes in the city because this is not usual here.

"It's also enjoyable after three intense years. Ask me - hopefully - after three years here what I like more then I will tell you. But at the moment it's great to go through the city, to have dinner and you are a little undercover."