'Already proved' - Journalists tip Derek McInnes to replace Philippe Clement at Rangers

Derek McInnes has proven himself to be a strong replacement for Philippe Clement if Rangers sack the Belgian, according to Peter Martin and Alison McConnell.

The two journalists said on PLZ Soccer (21 October) that the victorious Kilmarnock boss has demonstrated, both in the 1-0 win over the Belgian at Rugby Park the previous day and in his Scottish Premiership career as a whole, that he would be a good candidate to take over at Ibrox, having rejected the job once before.

Rangers are now six points behind both Celtic and Aberdeen after blowing the chance to close the gap when the pair drew at the weekend, with Clement’s job again in the spotlight.

Martin said (21m 10s): “Derek McInnes, on a fraction of the budget, well organised and they won he game. Now this is a man who, from the story, from the inside track last time, Derek McInnes was all set to become the Rangers manager. He’d picked the side for the weekend, then there was a massive u-turn.

“I think Derek McInnes will be the one type of manager they’ll be looking to if this all goes pear-shaped, because he’s already proved that he can take on Rangers without fear, soak up pressure, pick their moment, win the game.”

McConnell added: “I would agree with you in terms of he should be a contender, or should be definitely in the equation for the reasons you’ve listed. I’m not sure if he would be. One, because he has turned it down before… I don’t know if there’d be a second offer, and also I don’t know if Rangers fans would want to cast the net a bit wider.

“However, from my perspective I think he should have been in the running this time last year. His credentials speak for themself, he’s repeatedly punched above his weight.”

Rangers rejected by former Aberdeen boss

Kilmarnock may only be eighth in the Scottish Premiership after their win over the Light Blues but McInnes may be able to do a lot more with the resources on offer at Ibrox.

Whether he would actually want to leave Rugby Park for the chaos in Govan is another matter, where John Gilligan sits virtually alone as the interim chairman.

It is far from a given that Clement will go anyway considering the brains trust at Ibrox have decided to trust the process behind him [Rangers Review, 9 October], despite rapidly-diminishing returns.

But if a move was made there could well be some logic in turning to the 53-year-old ex-Gers midfielder, given his familiarity with the league and with the Light Blues squad.

One of the main arguments for sticking with Clement is the club have signed players for successive managers and then sacked them a few months later, leaving a mismatch of a squad made in the image of none and so much money wasted.

If McInnes could see a way to get more out of the current options than Clement currently is it would certainly boost his candidacy, and considering he plays two up front with Kilmarnock it might be a start.

The current Ranger boss has stuck rigidly to a 4-2-3-1 formation that seems increasingly unsuitable for his players, with what little pace and width he does have either injured or not in use.

Something will need to change soon to deliver some regular strong performances or the clamour to replace the Belgian with McInnes, Kevin Muscat, or another option will only increase.

In other Rangers news, significant Light Blues plans have been shelved in the wake of an Ibrox mess.

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