Rangers

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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."

Rangers are out of Europa League qualifying after a 1-1 draw at home to Jagiellonia Bialystok and remain without a win after four games under new manager Derek McInnes.

The former Ibrox midfielder's side now head into a Premier Sports Cup last-16 tie at home to St Mirren on Sunday before making do with a Conference League play-off against Czech side Jabolonec.

What has gone wrong? Is it just teething problems or already a crisis?

You can read the match report here.

And give us your thoughts.

Alasdair Lamont
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

Rangers' season could scarcely have got off to a worse start.

Not only have performances and results been poor, but injuries to three first-team players (Ben Godfrey, Youssef Chermiti and Tuur Rommens) have handed Derek McInnes a serious problem as he tries to navigate a challenging first few weeks in the job.

Clearly, Chermiti's ACL injury, which will likely rule him out for the majority, if not all, of the season, is the most damaging to Rangers' hopes of mounting a title bid.

That might force Rangers' hand in the transfer market unless Bojan Miovski is given an opportunity to prove his worth, having looked like a peripheral figure in the early weeks of the season.

They have already spent a considerable sum this window, with Couhaib Driouech looking like the latest addition, but McInnes has yet to find his best team and a system that allows them to flourish.

The 4-4-2 that worked so well for McInnes at Hearts last season has not worked particularly well so far for Rangers, and it will be interesting to see whether he persists with it or looks to tweak it to better suit the players at his disposal.

Some of the manager's selections have been questioned, as have some signings, and it's definitely fair to say, on the evidence of the opening three games, that a number of players have yet to prove their worth to the Rangers supporters.

Their next opportunity to do that comes on Thursday when they attempt to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Jagiellonia Bialystok to reach the Europa League play-off stage.

It already feels like a pivotal game in Rangers' season. Win and progress, and the mood around Ibrox will improve and a platform from which to build will be put in place.

Failure to do so will add to the negative vibe that has been created by the winless start to the season, while also striking a financial and reputational blow to the club.

McInnes knew what he was walking into when he accepted the task of becoming Rangers manager, so he knows what's at stake and he has to find a way of getting through this tie to engender a bit of positivity around Ibrox.

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Sevilla have joined the race for Rangers midfielder Connor Barron, with West Ham also interested in the 23-year-old. Hayters, external

PSV Eindhoven winger Couhaib Driouech, 24, has passed his medical with only final details of a four-year contract to be agreed at Rangers. Mounir Boualin on X, external

Former manager Graeme Souness suggests Rangers should not lean too much into data analytics in their recruitment. Daily Record - subscription required, external

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Mohamed Diomande has left Rangers to join Turkish club Corum for an undisclosed fee.

The Ivory Coast midfielder, 24, made 122 appearances for Rangers and scored 10 goals after joining from Nordsjaelland in January 2024, having played almost the same amount of games for the Danish club.

Diomande has eight senior international caps.

And Rangers said: "Everyone at Rangers thanks Mohamed for all his contributions and wishes him all the very best for the future."

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Rangers manager Derek McInnes has addressed the media before Thursday's Europa League third qualifying round tie second leg against Jagiellonia Bialystok, who bring a 2-1 lead to Ibrox.

Here are the main points:

• McInnes says the club are "really disappointed" by the news of Youssef Chermiti's ACL injury. Chermiti will see a specialist for an operation in London next week.

• The manager is glad Rangers can "react" to Chermiti's absence and defensive shortages in the current transfer window.

• McInnes says the club will be "proactive with a number nine", are "playing with fire" with few available defenders and are "trying to bring wingers in".

• He confirms Rangers are closing in on PSV winger Couhaib Driouech: "I don't know exactly where he is right now. We've been linked with a lot of players and obviously that one's gained a bit of momentum and we are quite far down the line with that."

• Left-back Tuur Rommens faces up to eight weeks out - with McInnes saying "the scan wasn't great" - and joins Chermiti and Ben Godfrey on the sidelines.

• "We could all be doing with a win," says McInnes and hopes beating Jagiellonia would bring encouragement and confidence.

• McInnes urges his side to be less "safe" and show "more risk" in their play as they seek to progress to the Europa League play-off round, where Georgia's Iberia 1999 await.

Rangers fans, we asked for your thoughts on Youssef Chermiti's ACL injury, what now for the club, and what reinforcements are needed in his absence.

Here's a selection of what you said:

Graeme: Of course Chermiti's health should be the main priority and I hope he recovers, but this is classic Rangers. So many players have not been sold at peak value - Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent, Nicolas Raskin etc. - and once again poor strategy is literally costing the club money.

Ian: Poor guy. It's a terrible injury but could happen at any time. No point complaining about it. Gutted for the lad.

Sally: He is a young player, and his ACL will heal. It's unlikely he will be the same player and his value will drop dramatically in the transfer market. Rangers now need to find another striker fast.

Ian: Ryan Naderi and Bojan Miovski have to step up. It could not have happened at a worse time, with European ties already being difficult to get through without his loss.

Iain: I worry that we're spending ourselves into a black hole, £6m signings here, there and everywhere. Have the board assumed we would qualify for the Europa League and spent that money in advance? Have they assumed Chermiti and/or Raskin would move for a vast amount? Where is this money coming from?

James: Should have left him out of the team, and definitely should have sold him for £22m.

Alex: Rangers hierarchy blew the chance to cash in on Chermiti last week. They won't get that chance again. He's an average player who misses chances week in, week out. We could have bought three decent players with the transfer fee offered. Another failing in the boardroom!

Rangers are in talks with Brentford over a loan return for 20-year-old left-back Jayden Meghoma, while right-backs Kosta Nedeljkovic of Aston Villa and Hugo Siquet of Club Brugge remain targets. (Sky Sports)

Rangers left-back Tuur Rommens has suffered a groin strain and will be out for weeks instead of months. (The Herald)

Rangers remain in talks with Sheffield United over striker Ryan One, 20, after a loan approach was rejected. (Ben Jacobs on X)

Rangers had a bid for Hugo Siquet, 24, rejected by Club Bruges last week and the Belgian side have no plans to allow the player to leave this summer. (Daily Record)

Ibrox legend Barry Ferguson is convinced Derek McInnes is the right man for Rangers despite criticism after a modest start. (Daily Record)

Read the rest of Wednesday's gossip.