McInnes frustrated as Rangers fail to win in opening three matches

Derek McInnes was left frustrated on 2026-08-09 after Rangers lost 2-1 at Ibrox to Hibernian, a result that left the club without a victory in their first three matches of the season. Over nine days the team conceded five goals and surrendered first-half leads to Dundee United, Jagiellonia Bialystok and Hibernian.

McInnes has warned on several fronts about the squad's problems, with the club described as struggling to find form amid profligacy in front of goal, difficulty breaking down organised defences and recurring defensive lapses. Former Hibs midfielder Scott Allan told BBC Radio Scotland after the Hibernian win: "Based on today, I'd be very surprised if Derek McInnes knows what his best 11 is and we're into the big games already - and that's a problem."

The run includes an Europa League qualifying defeat in Poland, after which McInnes urged his players to "be far more stingy with our work, defend the goal with our lives, don't give our opponent opportunities" and said the squad had shown "the same worrying characteristics that were the club's ruin last season." Those problems were visible against Hibs, where a summer signing, Vanja Dragojevic, "grappled Josh Kerr to the ground for a penalty" as the defence again struggled to hold shape.

Selection inconsistency has compounded defensive issues: Rangers used three different back fours in their opening fixtures. The line-up that drew with Dundee United was Ben Godfrey, Dujon Sterling, Emmanuel Fernandez and Tuur Rommens; away in Poland it was Ross McCrorie, Sterling, Fernandez and Rommens; and against Hibernian it was Dragojevic, Olwethu Makhanya, Fernandez and Rommens.

McInnes described the Hibs defeat as "really harsh on us" and said: "we were the better team" who "deserved far better than we got." He added: "It's damaging in the sense that we came here to win and we expect to win," and said: "What we've got to do now is just dust ourselves down because that was a blow for us. "The response of the team in the latter part of the game was terrific."

Former Ibrox midfielder Ryan Jack warned of mounting pressure after three successive games without a win, saying: "For Rangers to be at home in their first league home game of the season, Derek McInnes' first home game in charge and to score thtough a Hibs own goal and not create too much with two strikers on the park will be frustrating. "I touched on it before the game, if you go one without a win it's trouble, then two, now three, usually that's crisis time and people start asking serious questions. "It's early on in Derek McInnes' reign and a lot of new players are in, so you need time for that to gel, but as you do that, you need to pick up results as this football club demands it."

McInnes has already overseen nine signings and said he wants to add further reinforcements, with another winger and extra defenders appearing to be priorities, while Youssef Chermiti was taken off on a stretcher on the same day it emerged Rangers had rejected a big-money offer for the striker. Speaking before the Hibernian game the manager said: "We've got a few bids in for several players and a few things are ongoing at the minute. "Ideally, a lot of these things would have came to fruition a wee bit quicker. "But hopefully, if there is any news to tell, it'll be in the upcoming days on a few of our targets."

Rangers now face a second leg against Jagiellonia Bialystok on Thursday, a match the club acknowledge will be decisive for their Europa League qualification hopes.