Rangers boss Derek McInnes reacts to Hearts fan flak and meets 'new signings'

The South African defender headed home on 89 minutes to force a 2-2 draw. McInnes lamented how his Rangers team lost control of the match after taking the lead early on through Kevin Kelsy and admitted Hearts had the better individual performances on the night.

Rangers failed to cut the gap at the top of the Premiership after leaders Celtic also drew 2-2, but ultimately on his return to his former club, McInnes was contented to stretch the team’s unbeaten run to ten matches.

“Very important,” McInnes said of not losing to Hearts. “We came here to win. We’re on a good run and the majority of that run has been wins, but there have been a couple of away games in a row now where we’ve dropped points from a winning position. That’s something where we need to try to establish a wee bit more control.

“You’re not going to control the game all the time through possession, but you can control where the opposition take the ball. In those moments, you’ve got to be a bit more solid, secure and trustworthy with your work. We have to be honest, we didn’t do that during the period before half-time and after half-time.

“I think when you go in front at a place like this, we’re disappointed we never showed more authority in the game. I don’t think you expect to have control when you come to Tynecastle.

“We’ve got a very young forward line and I don’t think we secured the ball enough. We were giving away umpteen free-kicks and playing with fire, to be honest. We were disappointed that, going into half-time, we gave up a lot of control of the game.

“You’ve got to credit Hearts. I think Hearts had the better players. I think they had three or four real top performers and players who played really well, so I have to be honest with that. We never started the second half. It’s inexplicable, really. We lose another free-kick, given away cheaply, and we get punished.

“We didn’t do enough to win the game, but we worked hard. I think the stats will show we had more possession, more big chances and a similar number of shots on target. But the better performers were in Hearts jerseys tonight.”

McInnes was given a hostile reception from the Hearts fans upon his return to the club he left for Rangers during the summer - and said he expected nothing else.

“Scottish football is what it is,” continued McInnes. “I didn’t expect anything different, and why should I? I get it. I totally get it.”

He took pleasure in seeing former colleagues and players who he laid the groundwork for their arrivals. “I liked coming round and seeing all my ex-players and all the players I signed,” he smiled. “I actually met some of the players I’d signed for the first time. It was quite surreal, but seeing all the staff here and all my former players was brilliant. I had a brilliant time here. There was only fondness, so that’s part of it.

“But once the whistle goes, I know people aren’t going to be kind to me and I totally understand that. It doesn’t change how I feel about this club and my time here.”

McInnes dismissed any notion of issues with Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken after a terse handshake. “No, all good,” said the 55-year-old. “I think he was just thanking me for how grateful he is for leaving him such a strong squad here.”

McInnes reserved praise for Makhanya, who was one of Rangers’ better defenders and came up with the equaliser. “I thought he was outstanding and he had to be because we weren’t as assured around him at times,” added McInnes. “I thought he was terrific. He gets his goal, which is two goals now in two games from set plays. That’s vitally important for us.”