McInnes still seeking first win as Rangers lose 2-1 to Jagiellonia Bialystok in Poland

Derek McInnes's Rangers went two matches without a victory after a 2-1 first-leg defeat to Jagiellonia Bialystok in their Europa League third-round qualifier away in Poland on 6 August 2026, following a draw at Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership curtain-raiser.

McInnes's appointment had raised hopes of a fresh start after a succession of managers who left amid criticism, and nine signings have arrived this summer with more expected; last season's poor form remains a concern. Neither Russell Martin nor Danny Rohl were able to restore past glories in their short stints in Govan while McInnes was taking Hearts to the verge of immortality.

After the defeat in Poland McInnes said: "We've seen a lot tonight of what I thought Rangers were last season." The 55-year-old added post match in Poland: "I thought we gave up too many chances and gave teams too much encouragement. We've got to be honest and say we are guilty of beating ourselves tonight. And that's no disrespect to our opponent because on transitions and counter-attack, it fuels them."

Rangers were exposed in the opening 45 minutes as Jagiellonia capitalised on lapses in concentration; twelve minutes into the game Thelo Aasgaard tried an audacious spin on the edge of the hosts' box and one minute later the visitors found themselves behind following an impressive counter. McInnes said: "There's no bigger drain on confidence for any player, team, support than losing cheap goals. There were mistakes for the goals, and I understand that can happen, but we have got to be far more stingy with our work, defend the goal with our lives, don't give our opponent opportunities. At no cost is that ball going in our box, at no cost are they going to get a chance, and we've got to have a bit more of that approach to our work."

The central defensive partnership of Dujon Sterling and Emmanuel Fernandez was noted as shaky during the match. "If you spoke to McInnes right now without a microphone in front of him, and you asked him, 'Do you trust Fernandez?', there's no way he says yes, no way," former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday said on BBC Sportsound. "But he doesn't have an option at this moment in time to play someone else. I'm being very critical here, but I think Fernandez has every attribute to be a top, top central defender, yet it looks as if he hasn't had the education growing up of the basics of being a central defender."

McInnes made three half-time changes, bringing on Cammy Devlin, Findlay Curtis and Nicolas Raskin, which coincided with a stronger second-half showing. Curtis, 20, had been a revelation on loan at Kilmarnock in the second half of last season and earned a call-up to Scotland's World Cup squad; he had been limited to just eight minutes in the Premiership opener but was handed 45 minutes in Poland, where he struck the post and flashed an effort just wide. "The second-half performance was better, in an attacking sense. Findlay Curtis had a large part to play in that," former Rangers striker Steven Thompson said on BBC Sportsound. "His performance was one of the major positives from the evening." Halliday added: "Curtis had a fearless nature to try to make a positive impact. Not everything came off, but when he gets the ball, he drives at players, he plays one-two, he's running off the ball and having efforts at goal. That alone sparked Rangers into that 5% or 10% more on the ball."

The 2-1 defeat leaves Rangers trailing after the first leg of their Europa League third-round qualifier, and McInnes remains without a win two games into his reign.