McInnes says Rangers have funds and need 'a wee bit of help' after Europa exit

On 15 August 2026, Rangers manager Derek McInnes said at Ibrox he was still awaiting his first win in charge after his side dropped out of the Europa League, speaking ahead of the League Cup last-16 tie with St Mirren (16:00 BST).

McInnes' comments followed a start to his tenure of two draws and two defeats in four games, with Rangers registering one point in the league and dropping into the Conference League qualifiers after losing to Jagiellonia Bialystok. The manager has overseen a summer rebuild that has brought in nine players and said more signings could follow; failure to overcome Czech side Jablonec over the final two Thursdays in August would leave Rangers without continental competition and the associated income for the rest of the campaign.

Summing up the situation before the cup tie, McInnes said: "It's not been the start we wanted, but the intention is still to have the outcome that we want come the end of the season." He added: "We're still working hard towards that and we've got money to spend. We've got a lot of younger players and what we could do with is just a wee bit of help."

On the immediate demand for results, McInnes warned of the consequences of poor early form: "We need to try and win games as we go along because if you don't, everything becomes so much more difficult. Everything gets scrutinised. "That's not going to change. The only thing that has to change is getting more winning performances and hopefully we can have that Sunday."

Addressing selection issues after Thursday's 1-1 draw at home to Jagiellonia, McInnes said injuries had forced him to put "square pegs in round holes" and stressed the need to offer supporters "something to get behind." He told fans: "They need to see action," and added: "Nobody is sitting here and asking for understanding and patience. I quite understand the frustrations and it's been more than just these four games where the frustration starts to build. "They need somewhere to vent that but they should be seeing a better performance and we'll aim to give them that."

Former players voiced views on the state of the club and McInnes' position. Richard Foster said: "It's been tough. The level of performance is the thing that they're questioning but they're also not winning games, they're out of the Europa League. I do believe Derek is the right man. He's not become a bad manager in four games. I think he will get Rangers to a place this season where they're challenging for the league and the cup and they're playing good football and they're competitive. You've got to be patient." Andy Halliday called for clarity in recruitment: "It should be a combination of the footballing department and Derek McInnes [that sign the players]. A recruitment team should always identify targets that fit the profile that the manager wants and then the manager should have the final say. If you've signed 27 players in a year, something's gone seriously, seriously wrong. They need a starting right-back, a starting centre-half, a starting centre midfielder - which is unbelievable to say considering they've signed three in the summer - and I think they need another two wingers. If Derek wants to continue with two strikers, they need another striker." John Robertson added: "Everything is getting scrutinised. If you don't win your first few games, you're immediately under pressure. Derek McInnes is suddenly under pressure. He has to be given time to build his team, put his stamp on it. He needs to sort out the spine of his team and that's going to take more money."

Rangers' immediate fixtures now take on added significance: they host St Mirren in the League Cup last-16 tie (16:00 BST) and must still negotiate the two-legged tie against Jablonec later in August to retain any continental participation for the season.