Even with the come-from-behind victory in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final over Motherwell, it feels like Philippe Clement is edging towards the Ibrox exit door.
The Ibrox side scored twice at Hampden in the second period to come from behind, but after losing to Aberdeen at Pittodrie earlier in the week, thereby falling nine points behind the Dons and Celtic in the league table, it was another performance which was far from convincing and a corner doesn't look like it's going to be turned any time soon.
If Clement does go – and if Rangers can afford to sack him with a £17.2 million loss reported last week – the question next will turn to which manager is best suited to haul them out of this doom spiral. The club is a complete mess from top to bottom, but as I wrote in last week’s column, there’s always the possibility for a new manager to come in and completely reverse the fortunes of the team.
One name which seemed to pop up continuously last week on radio shows and on social media was that of Derek McInnes, who is now the bookmakers' favourite.
It may have had Kilmarnock fans slightly concerned and, so soon after he was getting pushed for the Tynecastle gig, must have rankled a bit to see him linked with another club within this league, especially one as unpalatable as Rangers. But don’t worry Rugby Park enthusiasts, it seems highly unlikely that McInnes will return to the club he formerly represented in his playing days. Mainly because Rangers fans, by and large, don’t want him.
Firstly, the globalisation of football has meant that climbing your way up the ladder until you reach the very top isn’t as common as it used to be. Of course, this still happens, but there’s a bit of a blockage when it comes to the likes of the Old Firm; those expected to challenge for titles every season and compete in Europe. Instead of looking around the domestic scene, Rangers (and Celtic) have largely looked abroad or down south rather. Scottish football managers aren’t sexy names and fans want sexy. And if they are to be considered, then they need to be doing very well at the moment the job becomes available. Yesterday's 3-2 defeat to Dundee means Kilmarnock are still in the bottom six after a slow start to the campaign, with the toll of playing six games in Europe being a big reason for that. There would simply be a lot of ridicule if Rangers turned to the man currently eighth in the table.
Secondly, McInnes turned them down previously when he was manager of Aberdeen and that will still stick in the craw with a lot of fans. To be fair, this isn't exclusive to Rangers or even Old Firm supporters. Any time your favourites are turned down by a player or manager, the natural reaction is one which is quite unforgiving.
And thirdly, they just won't consider McInnes good enough for such a job. This owes to the slightly unfair reputation he has among Scottish football fans with even many Hearts supporters looking down their noses at his candidacy for that role. These days he's almost looked upon as something of a Tommy Wright or Stephen Robinson; somebody who excels with the smaller clubs, getting them to play above their station, but wouldn't be cut out for the demands of a team expected to win trophies each and every season.
A lot of that comes, perversely, from his time as manager of Aberdeen. In one way, he enjoyed unprecedented success in the modern era. Scottish football has a reputation for its lack of competition, but below the Glasgow clubs there is an astounding amount of parity. You only have to look at the current Hearts team (if your eyes can stand it): third last season by a clear distance; bottom of the division now. Teams rise and fall like ocean waves in a hurricane. Yet for eight seasons in succession, Aberdeen finished in the top four of the Scottish Premiership, including four consecutive in second place finishes (which would've been five if a foul on Jamie Langfield had been spotted at the very end of the 2013/14 campaign).
In another way, and the way which matters to Rangers, he didn't achieve enough. He reached four cup finals, winning one (against Inverness Caledonian Thistle), while reaching another five semi-finals. Unlike run-of-the-mill league matches, these are the games which Scottish football fans across the country will watch, so he developed something of an unfair reputation for being a manager who couldn't rise to the big occasion. If he couldn't overcome Celtic before, then he can't be good enough for Rangers. Obviously, things are far from that simple. The disparity in budgets meant he was always at an extreme disadvantage going into these contests. Very few managers would have succeeded more in his position, barring perhaps the Stevie May-inspired collapse in the 2014 Scottish Cup semi-final against St Johnstone.
He's also, again somewhat unfairly, got a reputation for only producing defensive teams who look to go direct, a style typically associated with smaller clubs. This is his default, yes, but he's also had teams who were great to watch, most notably the Aberdeen side which featured Jonny Hayes, Niall McGinn, Kenny McLean and Ryan Jack. The fluid 3-4-3 which was implemented in the first half of his final campaign at Pittodrie also provided some excellent viewing before most of the attack departed in the January window.
In reality, McInnes is simply a good manager. He constantly gets teams in this country to play above their station and would likely do the same if given the chance at Ibrox. But he won't, so it's probably about time to quash the speculation and let him get on with continuing his good work at Rugby Park.
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