McInnes criticises length of international break as Rangers prepare for Kilmarnock

Rangers manager Derek McInnes said he was "not a fan" of the extended international break after 13 of his players were away on international duty following the club's Scottish Premiership win over Celtic on 20 September. He added that the full squad will only train together on Friday, the day before the visit of Kilmarnock, leaving the team 19 days removed from the derby victory.

McInnes outlined the practical problems caused by the pause, noting players were working under different national setups and travelling widely. He said: "Our players are away with different federations, working with different staff and travelling all over the world for four games." He also warned of the effect on families and staff, adding: "It's tough for the players to be away from their families, but equally for us there is a lot of nervousness about your players going into other countries' hands for so long." He quoted the squad's current status: "They're all back in today but they're not all training. So by the time we get on to the pitch together tomorrow it'll be 19 days since the Celtic game." He concluded that while the schedule is fixed, "I know it's set in stone - but I'm not a fan of it to be honest."

Rangers entered the break on a sequence of six straight wins, including two victories over Celtic across the League Cup and Premiership, a run that followed earlier setbacks and an exit from European competition. McInnes received the Premiership manager of the month award for September after four wins from four last month. He said he was under "no illusions" that maintaining form will be necessary.

McInnes also revealed he had lunch with Sir Alex Ferguson at the club's training ground during the period. He said: "He spent a bit of time with the staff and me, chewing the fat as he does," and added: "He has always been really supportive, and I'm sure he is with a lot of managers."

Reflecting on conversations with Ferguson, McInnes described their recent contact and the former Manchester United boss's perspective on dealing with difficult starts. "I've had a couple of conversations with him since I've been at the club, but to see him in person was good. Particularly after his health scare," McInnes said. He recalled Ferguson's comments on managerial resilience: "He enjoyed what we were doing at Hearts and he was a regular visitor. But he understood the opportunity for me to come here was there and we spoke long and hard about that. He spoke about his own difficult starts at Man Unuited, and he said it's how you finish a campaign not how you start the campaign. Sometimes it can take time. He thought we were really strong on the performance at Celtic Park in particular."

All players have returned to Ibrox and McInnes has scheduled the squad's first full collective session for Friday ahead of the visit of Kilmarnock.