Derek McInnes has criticised the length of the international break, describing himself as “not a fan” of a pause he believes has been “too long” for Rangers. The Ibrox club had 13 players away on international duty following their Scottish Premiership win over Celtic on 20 September, and McInnes says his full squad will only train together on Friday, the day before the visit of Kilmarnock and 19 days after that derby victory.
The Rangers manager highlighted the logistical strain of having players spread across different countries. “Our players are away with different federations, working with different staff and travelling all over the world for four games,” McInnes said. He added that the spell is tough on the players’ families, while also creating anxiety for the club: “equally for us there is a lot of nervousness about your players going into other countries’ hands for so long.”
McInnes explained that even though the players have returned, the group is not yet back on the training pitch together. “They’re all back in today but they’re not all training. So by the time we get on to the pitch together tomorrow it’ll be 19 days since the Celtic game,” he said. “That’s longer than a lot of tournaments for a lot of countries. I know it’s set in stone – but I’m not a fan of it to be honest.”
Rangers went into the break on a run of six straight victories, the latest two of which came against Celtic in the League Cup and the Scottish Premiership. It has been a much-needed revival for McInnes and his side after a rocky start to his time at Ibrox which involved an exit from European competition. McInnes was named the Premiership manager of the month for September, after four wins from four last month.
The manager says he is under “no illusions” that the good form has to continue. He also revealed he had lunch with Sir Alex Ferguson at the club’s training ground. The former Manchester United boss was a regular visitor to Tynecastle last season as McInnes spearheaded Hearts’ unexpected title charge.
“He spent a bit of time with the staff and me, chewing the fat as he does,” McInnes said. “He has always been really supportive, and I’m sure he is with a lot of managers. I’ve had a couple of conversations with him since I’ve been at the club, but to see him in person was good. Particularly after his health scare.”
McInnes added that Ferguson enjoyed what he was doing at Hearts and was a regular visitor, but understood the opportunity to move to Rangers. “We spoke long and hard about that,” McInnes said. McInnes also said Ferguson had spoken about his own difficult starts at Manchester United and that it is how you finish a campaign, not how you start, that matters, and sometimes it can take time. Ferguson, McInnes said, thought Rangers were “really strong” in their performance at Celtic Park in particular.