Rangers

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.

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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."

Rangers manager Derek McInnes personally intervened to secure the signing of 27-year-old left-back James Penrice on loan from AEK Athens. (TeamTalk, external)

PSV Eindhoven have been left bemused by Rangers' decision to pull out of the £6.5m deal for winger Couhaib Driouech as they believe the 24-year-old's injury was known to the Ibrox club and he will soon be back to full fitness. (Anthony Joseph on X, external)

PSV believe they are getting back a "disillusioned player" after Driouech's move to Rangers fell through. (Scotsman - subscription required, external)

Former Rangers midfielder Derek Ferguson has hinted the Ibrox club did make contact with his son Lewis but suggests they wasted their time in doing so as Bologna valued the 26-year-old Scotland midfielder too highly. (Herald - subscription required, external)

Former Czech Republic defender Jan Rajnoch backs Jablonec to trouble Rangers in their Conference League play-off round. (Herald - subscription required, external)

Saturday's Scottish gossip

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Rangers defender Dan Neil wants to help make Ibrox "the best place to play in the world" after Derek McInnes' side were booed off the pitch following their Europa League exit.

Rangers were trailing 2-1 to Jagiellonia Bialystok after last week's third qualifying round first leg but were hoping to overturn that deficit back in Glasgow on Thursday night.

Lawrence Shankland's first half penalty put the hosts ahead, and levelled the tie on aggregate, but Nik Prelec's second half goal ensure the Polish outfit progressed in the competition.

Rangers will now face a Conference League play-off against Czech side Jablonec to continue their European campaign.

Neil, who signed from Sunderland this summer, is confident the wins aren't far away.

"We understand there's an expectation to win here and when you are not winning, it is going to be like that in the stadium," the 24-year-old said of the booing on the full-time whistle at Ibrox.

"We have to accept that as Rangers players and do everything we can to turn that around.

"I've heard so many people that have been here for a while saying that when we're winning, it's the best place to be in the world, there's no place like it.

"That's got to be the motivation every day, to try and turn it around and make it the best place to play in the world."

Rangers fans, we asked for your views following Thursday night's draw with Jagiellonia Bialystok and the side's drop to the Conference League play-off.

Here's what some of you said:

Jim: Give the guy a chance, Derek McInnes isn't deliberately playing for draws or losses, it takes time for a team to gel. We can't expect any miracles at this stage. I've been a Rangers supporter for 60 years and have seen worse teams than that.

Ronnie: We have been knocked out by a club nobody had heard of and who have never qualified for the Europa League. That about sums us up. We actually look worse than last season. The manager's tactics and substitution's only add to the anxiety of Rangers fans. He has had the worst start to a season of any Rangers manager. Four games and we haven't scored from open play - that tells its own story. Lose to St Mirren on Sunday and the fans will stay away.

John: Another dysfunctional performance from Rangers. Worst aspect is the almost total lack of scoring chances being created in the matches this season. It's totally bizarre. On top of that, the defence is flaky. All has a worrying Russell Martin 2.0 feel to it.

Derek: New manager, new players, millions spent and we are as bad as last year. New additions not good enough. Turn down big money for Youssef Chermiti now he's out for the season. Rangers at this moment in time are a poisoned chalice. No settled team, chopping and changing doesn't work as we've seen in the past. Only saving grace is we're not in the Champions League.

Steven: Shambles at the back, toothless upfront. This team lack everything needed to be successful. Chief among the missing attributes is character. Every pass is safe and predictable, the goal we concede typifies this. Three defenders around the attacker and he still scores, this isn't down to injuries just poor players. Four goals scored so far this season, two own goals and a penalty, not nearly good enough.

Peter: Absolutely sick of hearing the same excuses. Talk the talk but can't walk the walk. It's completely unacceptable to say that a team loses confidence because the other team equalises, if that's the case then we really are in trouble. Inability to score in open play is defining our season already. When is the superstar striker coming?

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Rangers have submitted a bid in the region of £7.5m for Portland Timbers striker Kevin Kelsy but the MLS club are not looking to sell and the 22-year-old Venezuelan is not pushing to leave. Tom Bogert on X, external

Rangers have agreed a deal to sign former Hearts left-back James Penrice from AEK Athens on loan with a buy option clause. Fabrizio Romano on X, external

Rangers, Fenerbahce, Ajax and Lyon have recently requested updated information on 20-year-old Girona winger Min-Su Kim. Rudy Galetti on X, external

Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh has held initial discussions with Linfield after being approached about the possibility of investing in the Northern Irish outfit. Daily Record - subscription required, external

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Rangers manager Derek McInnes: "In the four games we've had, there's been some good moments, but it's not been good enough and certainly not a strong enough 90-minute performance.

He describes the lead up to the goal conceded tonight as "madness".

"It is not a lack of bodies," he adds. "It is a lack of intelligence and a lack of doing the right thing.

"Once they equalised, it is so difficult because the players lose confidence, the situation becomes a bit desperate and I thought we just lost all of our composure after that.

"It is not great to watch. My team go from some good highs in the first half to being as poor as we were in the second half and you have to say we didn't do enough.

"We huffed and puffed and even when we threw [Emmanuel] Fernandez up, we still don't make the right decisions.

"We should be winning this game. Jagiellonia are a decent team with some good players and I think they're well coached, but Rangers at their best should be winning this.

"We have work to do to get ready for a cup tie against St Mirren on Sunday."