Shankland penalty hands McInnes first Premiership win at Pittodrie on Sunday

Lawrence Shankland's second-half penalty secured a win for Rangers at Pittodrie on Sunday in the Scottish Premiership, delivering Derek McInnes his first league victory as Rangers manager. The result arrived days after Thursday's Conference League qualifying exit to Jablonec, a setback that had intensified scrutiny on McInnes.

McInnes had overseen a run of two wins in seven matches and faced mounting pressure before travelling north to Aberdeen, where he previously spent eight years as manager. Until the trip to Pittodrie he admitted he had not enjoyed watching his side this season, and the European elimination before the end of August added to concern about his tenure. The victory was described by some as hard-fought rather than polished, and opinions differed on its significance for the manager's future.

Reflecting on the turnaround, McInnes said: "Contrasting feelings from Thursday night. It was a tough few days for us all. I thought today we were far more like the Rangers team I want us to be. "Probably for the first time this season, I really, really enjoyed watching the team. "There have been moments of enjoyment, a couple of wins and some passages of play, but we know when we come here that you can't be sparkling for 90 minutes. "You need to compete and bring quality, and I thought we did all that."

Pundits were cautious about reading too much into the victory. Chris Sutton called Rangers' display a "bitty performance" and questioned whether it could be a "turning point" for McInnes, while former Rangers striker Kris Boyd said he would not "get carried away" and insisted the priority was securing the points, saying on Sky Sports: "Rangers came up here and got three points - that was the most important thing."

McInnes singled out new signing Kim Min-su for praise after his Pittodrie debut, noting the 20-year-old South Korean had impressed after just one training session with his team-mates. Alongside Djeidi Gassama, the new signing from Girona, Kim was singled out as one of Rangers' best attacking players in a performance the manager judged to lack quality on and off the ball. McInnes said he had to be patient to sign Kim, who joined for a reported fee of £8.5m, and that the player offers a "much-needed dose of quality."

Questions over squad composition and individual selection followed the match. Nicolas Raskin was absent amid talk about his future, and McInnes said the club had yet to receive an offer for the midfielder. Boyd criticised Rangers' recruitment and squad size, saying: "If there's not been any bids for Raskin, get him in your team because he's your best midfielder by a country mile," and adding: "Rangers must have over 30 players - it's not sustainable. They need to get five, six, seven out at least before the window closes. "There are other areas of the team that need strengthened other than the forward areas. They're still shy of someone who can connect the midfield and be creative."

McInnes also addressed the club's search for a striker following Youssef Chermiti's long-term injury and the transfer links reported to Portland Timbers' Kevin Kelsy. He said: "We're still trying to react to the Youssef [Chermiti] situation," adding: "We're pretty close on that one. Hopefully we can get our target in before Wednesday's game [away to Falkirk]."