Rangers’ meeting with Jagiellonia last night needed to be a line in the sand, a break from the norm, a chance to build momentum. Instead, it was more of the same and, for Derek McInnes, the wait for a win goes on.
It is now four matches without one and, if able to qualify, the club will play only UEFA Conference League football this season. Rangers last won at Ibrox on April 4th, with St Mirren visiting on Sunday.
In the four matches of this season to date, the Ibrox side have started with a different shape on each occasion and changed formation at the break every time too, making seven half-time personnel changes.
There have been mitigating circumstances for McInnes in his chopping and changing. Youssef Chermiti and Tuur Rommens’ injuries were far from timely. He only had four fit defenders and said the club had been "playing with fire" entering this stage of the season based on those options. This was the first time he had been able to play two genuine, touchline-hugging wingers and, in the first half, Rangers felt the benefit as Djeidi Gassama and Daisuke Yokota injected pace into the play.
Clearly, the Rangers manager feels more is needed on the recruitment front. Chairman Andrew Cavenagh was again keen to stress during Monday’s shareholder meeting that recruitment is collective, not wanting any one individual to assume total blame, in keeping with the executive structural changes made since the departures of Kevin Thelwell and Patrick Stewart.
But how many signings since January have made a genuine improvement to this team? Have Ryan Naderi and Tochi Chukwuani? Rommens has spent time on the treatment table twice already. Squad planning must come into question too, given such imbalance, even if, again, that is a problem inherited from seasons past and the many different playing styles trialled. As Couhaib Driouech prepares to become the 10th arrival of the summer, how many more additions are needed? A right-back, more cover on the left and depth in wide areas, for a start.
These things take time. Rangers could still turn a corner this month. But the squad required enough early on to build momentum and that has deserted them so far.
And if not an issue of quality, then under McInnes, at the very least, Rangers were supposed to look cohesive and controlled early on. This summer was supposed to produce a recognisable spine in the latest rebuild of a long line of them. In a word, performances, both on and off the ball, have been disjointed. Late on here there was again little in the way of urgency. Thelo Aasgaard’s strike against Dundee United remains Rangers’ only open-play goal of the season.
McInnes opted for a "bold" team selection with just three defenders on the pitch and there was risk associated with it. Jagiellonia could well have taken the lead when Jesus Imaz struck the post and another free chance was passed up after a cross flashed across the face of goal.
On the ball, that shape allowed Rangers an overload in midfield, which saw either winger run continuously at his opposite number. The risk was clear though: who picked up Jagiellonia’s right-winger Rodrigo Conceicao? The Polish visitors looked to manipulate Rangers, marking man for man, by putting four attackers up against the hosts’ back three. With McInnes still intent on pressing and defending aggressively on a man-for-man basis, some early teething problems emerged.
Still, Lawrence Shankland’s penalty had Rangers ahead at the break. By bringing on Ross McCrorie for Aasgaard at half-time, Rangers were able to defend in a back four, but they lost the ability to attack with an extra man in midfield. Understandable if they were leading on the night, but perhaps not when level in the tie. Corridors to either winger became less accessible and Jagiellonia started to take control. Bringing on Cammy Devlin to sit in front of the defence again as the hosts chased a goal felt like a poor call at the time and in hindsight.
As the Rangers Review argued at the weekend, so many of the club’s issues can be distilled down to a single fact: far too often the opposition are more comfortable on the ball than they are. They are still searching for identity and a base to build from. As Rangers tired and their direct routes forward created too many variables, Jagiellonia could pass their way into control.
August was never likely to produce the best football ever seen at Ibrox, but it was supposed to provide a base to build from. Unlike last season, for example, when Russell Martin’s football was always going to require a bedding-in period, there was an expectation that results, if not performances, would arrive more quickly. After the idealism of last summer, this was supposed to be more about realism. Of course, it is still only August, but encouragement at the moment is limited.
There are clearly wider problems, as ever. McInnes is the eighth man to try to fix this from the dugout in eight years and there is a valid question as to whether, after all the money spent since the US takeover, the Rangers squad is any better than the team that got Philippe Clement sacked in early 2025.
He seemed to answer that question himself post-match, saying: "I think we need to be honest. The club's built for the Europa League and Champions League. And that's the intention, to get there. But I'm not sure the team's quite ready for it at the minute. And it pains me to say that, to be honest. It does. We need to get more quality. We need to try and get more confidence into the team."
Three managers in the past 12 months, appointed under new ownership and with varying philosophies, is a reality that is felt on nights like this. Pivots in different directions have not helped build a squad that is ready to compete.
The first time they have been knocked out at this stage of European competition since Progrès, this was a low moment for Rangers. If Jagiellonia reach the Europa League, it will be the first time they have done so in their history.
Read more:
- The issue that caused Rangers' defeat vs Hibs and why it's far from a new problem
- 'We are not ready' - Every word of Derek McInnes' Rangers message after shock exit
Is this start to the season McInnes’ fault for chopping and changing, for putting out a team that is not performing? Ultimately, he is responsible for what happens on the pitch. So many alterations do not help and the results are not arriving.
Equally, as ever at Ibrox, the problems extend beyond the dugout as questions surrounding quality remain.
Rangers' own manager suggesting the club are not ready for the Europa League - a competitoin they've tended to thrive in despite domestic difficulties ever since 2018 - is very revealing indeed.
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