Rangers

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Rangers manager Derek McInnes: "Contrasting feelings from Thursday night. It was a tough few days for us all. I thought today we were far more like the Rangers team I want us to be.

"[Kim Min-su] coming in gives us a much-needed dose of quality. We've been searching for that for a while. We've waited a long time for him and been a bit frustrated we haven't got him in quicker.

"The best part for me was the competitiveness of the team was clear. We get our clean sheet and it was a deserved win.

"We would have taken any win after Thursday. It's great to have a winning performance. The next one comes around quickly and we need to get ready.

"The goal took a bit long in coming. Special mention to Lawrence [Shankland]. It's not easy standing in front of the Aberdeen end for such a huge moment. That's part of the reason why we brought him here.

"Three games into a league campaign, it's not been the start we wanted. We saw last season that Rangers went so far behind and they still got themselves back into a title race.

"It's small steps in terms of points and performance. It will do the players the world of good."

On further transfer business before the end of the window, McInnes adds: "We're still trying to react to the Youssef [Chermiti] situation. We're pretty close on that one. Hopefully we can get our target in before Wednesday's game [against Falkirk]."

When asked if the potential new incoming is Portland Timbers striker Kevin Kelsy, McInnes responds: "I can't say anything until things are done."

Lawrence Shankland's second-half penalty prevented pressure intensifying on manager Derek McInnes as Rangers edged out Aberdeen to earn their first Scottish Premiership victory of the season.

Read our match report

Have your say

Venezuela striker Kevin Kelsy is awaiting a UK visa, medical and work permit before the 22-year-old completes his transfer from Portland Timbers to Rangers. (Ekrem Konur on X, external)

‌Kevin Kelsy will not be phased by the £9m price tag when the "strong, powerful striker" completes his move to Rangers, according to Portland Timbers coach Liam Ridgewell. (Daily Record, external)

Ferencvaros have told Rangers they are looking for at least £5.1m for 25-year-old Haiti striker Lenny Joseph and other clubs are also monitoring the situation. (Foot Mercato, external)

Rangers have told Monaco it would need a bid of more than £8.5m to persuade them to sell Djeidi Gassama after offers of around £6m from Monza and Parma were rejected for the 22-year-old winger. (Foot Mercato, external)

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Aberdeen are still without Brad Lyons, Ante Palaversa, Emmanuel Gyamfi (thigh) and Kristers Tobers (knee) but Mats Knoester is back in contention after being sidelined since May.

Rangers have Cammy Devlin back from a European ban and South Korean winger Kim Min-su could feature after his move from Girona.

Nico Raskin missed the defeat by Jablonec amid transfer talk.

• Rangers manager Derek McInnes has lost five of his past six away league games against former side Aberdeen, including the latest three in a row since a 1-0 win with Kilmarnock in December 2023.

• Rangers could fail to win their opening three games of a league season for the second successive campaign (drawing three in 2025-26). Before this, they had not failed to win any of their opening three matches in 35 seasons from 1990-91 to 2024-25.

• Aberdeen have won four of their past five home league games (losing the other), including their first this season, 2-1 over Hearts. It is as many wins as their previous 16 at Pittodrie in the Scottish Premiership (W4 D5 L7).

• Rangers have won the past four league games against Aberdeen, but have not won five in a row over the Dons since October 2011 (when they won six).

• Aberdeen have only lost one of their past five home league games against Rangers (winning two of them), although that was their most recent, a 2-0 defeat in January last season.

Rangers look set to miss out on Lens striker Rayan Fofana on loan, with L'Equipe stating that the 20-year-old has made it clear he wants to stay in France and join Le Havre. (L'Equipe via Daily Record, external)

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Captain Lawrence Shankland insists the Rangers players must take responsibility for the "sickening" and "embarrassing" European exit - but denied the club are in crisis.

Rangers are out of Europe before the league phase after defeat in the Europa League qualifiers to Jagiellonia Bialystok was followed by a shootout loss to Jablonec in the Conference League play-offs.

Since leaving Hearts to take charge at Ibrox in June, Derek McInnes has won just two of his first seven games in all competitions and his side already trail Premiership leaders Celtic by five points.

Speaking after Thursday's night's defeat in the Czech Republic, Shankland said: "There's not been too many times in my career where I've had to apologise to our travelling support, but tonight it's certainly one for the team to give them that apology.

"It's obviously been a difficult start to the season and ultimately going out of Europe, it doesn't get much lower than this.

"It's sickening, to be honest, and we need to take responsibility for that as players.

"Obviously we're trying to learn as we go. When results aren't coming, sometimes you can get away with it, and you get results along the way, but that's not happened for us.

"We're getting punished on all fronts, so it is difficult, but we need to keep working hard at it.

"I wouldn't say crisis, but it is obviously a concern. We know that as a team, and for this club to not be in European football, it's an embarrassing moment for us as a team and in that changing room.

"You can't hide behind it, there's nothing to hide behind. The proof is there, it's just not good enough."

Shankland started on the bench in both games against Jablonec and the striker's dream move to the club he supports has not gone as planned.

He admits the European exit is one of the lowest points of his career, while there is no escape from the scrutiny as a Rangers player.

"Everybody's trying to do well, but right now it's not happening, myself included," he added.

"It's just not been at the level required for the start of the season and we're trying to find that form individually and collectively.

"It's difficult, you're judged on everything you do and of course I would have loved to have come here and had a better start, but it's not been the case so far.

"I don't lose belief in what we're doing. Right now it's a horrific feeling, it's a bad moment, but we're going to need to move on at some point. We've got a league campaign to go into."

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Rangers' feeble European exit was no surprise and Derek McInnes is now battling to save his job, says Scott Allan.

The Ibrox club will not play European football beyond August for the first time in nine years after crashing on penalties to Jablonec following a 1-0 second-leg defeat in the Czech Republic.

"I think he's in a really precarious position now in how he tries to turn this around," said former Premiership midfielder Allan on the BBC's Scottish football podcast.

He added: "Players coming off at half-time week to week, the morale of the group will be really poor.

"When you look at the performance, it is nowhere near good enough, but not a result I didn't expect.

"He literally said himself the team doesn't know what it is. And ultimately that falls on Derek McInnes and what they're doing on the training pitch.

"He talked about elite preparation - the performance was anything but that. If we're totally honest, they're devoid of quality.

"Rangers weren't playing against a top side. That's a game, with what Rangers have spent, they should be coming through quite comfortably.

"Things have to change very quickly for Rangers. Players, especially now, are going to have to look deep within themselves to try and find a performance on Sunday because Stephen Robinson and Aberdeen will be preying on this Rangers team at Pittodrie."

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

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Rangers were so flat in the Czech Republic, meandering about like confused men, showing weakness in the tackle and not a scintilla of wit.

Derek McInnes changed the shape of his team four or five times and the poverty of their play didn't improve one iota.

"I look at us now and I'm thinking, well, we're no' great as a possession-based team at the minute," said McInnes in explaining his constant switches.

"We're not a counter-attacking team enough, or effectively enough, at times. We don't look like a team who are happy when we go direct. And teams need to be something."

Quite. And what are Rangers? What's their identity? What are they good at? In what areas are they improving?

McInnes was appointed in June, had a full pre-season, had six games and then a week off to prepare for the trip to Jablonec, only for Rangers to produce their worst effort of this, and many other, seasons.

During the dog days of his reign at Rangers, Russell Martin was once asked if he could name one or two things that were better on his watch - and he couldn't do it.

If McInnes was asked the same question now then there's no guarantee that he would come up with an answer, or at least, an answer that rang true.

Nobody really knows what his Rangers are, least of all McInnes, you suspect. He made three substitutions at the break on Thursday, a trio that brought his total of half-time replacements to 11 in seven games.

That betrays a manager who has either got his team wrong in the first place, hasn't been able to impart his message to his starters or doesn't have a dressing room capable of taking in what he's saying to them. Whatever the truth of it, it's not good.

Read more: Have expensively assembled Rangers improved at all?

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We asked for your views after Rangers were dumped out of Europe following defeat on penalties to Jablonec in the Conference League play-off.

Here are some of your comments:

Louise: I didn't think it was possible to have a worse team than the start of last season but Rangers continue to go backwards. Another summer and millions of pounds wasted on another team with no substance or quality. The only player with any heart was Findlay Curtis who had the guts to take a penalty at such a young age. Rangers were Europa finalists not too long ago and now we can't even qualify for Conference football.

Les: The worst performance I've seen in a long time.

Paul: What another catastrophic result for this inept and substandard Rangers team in Europe. To rely on the younger players in a penalty shootout to bail you out was such a painful watch. Pittodrie at the weekend will be another stern test but will they step up to the challenges that lie ahead?

Michael: Derek McInnes looks to be completely and utterly lost managing at an actual big club. His win percentage is lower than Russell Martin's. Get him out ASAP, we can't afford another start like last year before we actually find someone who can do the job.

G Young: Give Derek time, he was manager of the season three months ago with Hearts. The manager can't be sacked every week, give him another three games at least.

Jacob: Where do we go from here? Derek has got to go as that is unforgivable. We were so much better off begging Danny Rohl to stay and honestly I do not know where to start with what is wrong with this club. The players are not up for it and neither is the board or management. The recruitment is so poor.

Gordon: That might be the worst Rangers performance in my lifetime. The manager quotes Sir Alex Ferguson or Walter Smith stories but is not fit to shine their boots.

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Rangers remain in talks with Brighton and Hove Albion for winger Amario Cozier-Duberry after a previous bid was rejected. (Rangers Review, external)

Rangers have identified Rodez striker Ibrahima Balde as a target to bolster their striking options. (Sacha Tavolieri on X, external)

Turkish outfit Bursaspor are keen on a move for Rangers winger Ross McCausland. (Daily Record, external)

Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.