Rangers European night of shame points to Derek McInnes being a good manager in the wrong movie

Derek McInnes, whose touchline style always leant more towards the casual, is currently looking very uncomfortable in his smart Rangers garb. He dispensed with the suit jacket last on a humid night in north Czech Republic and he was tugging on his shirt collar long before the end in an effort to loosen his tie.

The Rangers manager is feeling the heat already after seeing his side tumble out of Conference League qualifying, losing 4-3 on penalties to Jablonec after a 1-0 defeat on the night. For the first time since 2017, and the infamous 2-0 loss to Progres Niederkorn under Pedro Caixinho, the Ibrox side will not be playing any European football after August.

After two successive wins that McInnes might have hoped had given his reign the kickstart required, this was as bad as anything Rangers have produced – possibly ever. Five shape changes, multiple substitutions and just one effort on target against a very ordinary if incredibly hard-working team. Just over 900 Rangers fans could barely believe what they were seeing. It’s no exaggeration to say some are pining for Russell Martin.

The constant churn of managers and players is what is harming Rangers, that’s clear enough. So dumping McInnes surely isn’t an option. But is he a good manager in the wrong movie? Despite all the talk about him coming home to the place he was always destined to be, this doesn’t seem to be working out. They’ll be relishing his discomfort in Aberdeen, where McInnes and Rangers are due next.

What must Minsu Kim be thinking? Confirmation of the South Korean winger’s signing arrived before kick-off. There is a lot now riding on the new £8.5 million arrival from Girona.

Supporters travelled from places like Forfar and Dingwall, judging from the flags. But no matter how far they’d come, Rangers could still not score a goal for them. What a wretched, timid performance. In a way the Ibrox side were fortunate to take the tie to penalties.

Their first three kicks were converted relatively comfortably. Indeed, Rangers even enjoyed brief ascendancy when Jablonec midfielder Filip Zorvan saw his effort saved by Ivor Pandur to put Rangers 3-2 in front with just two penalties each left. However, Findlay Curtis blazed over.

When Jablonec defender Nelson Okeke sent the Rangers’ keeper the wrong way, nerves were jangling again. James Penrice, an on-loan signing from AEK Athens and one of the few bright spots so far this season, is one of the sweetest strikers of the ball you will see. Not when it mattered on this occasion, sadly. Jan Hanus saved comfortably and Jan Chramosta finished Rangers off to the delight of the locals in the three-sided, 7,000-capacity Stadion Strelnice.

Rangers player ratings in Conference League play-off defeat by Jablonec

The goal that levelled the tie on aggregate came from Vakhtang Tchantuishvili after 73 minutes. The little midfielder picked up a loose ball on the fringe of the box. He skipped past Penrice before chopping back, with the defender anxious not to concede a penalty. Tchantuishvili then blasted towards goal and nobody was stopping it.

The home side had a chance to make the shootout redundant. However, substitute Filip Novak saw his close-range effort saved by Pandur with four minutes left of extra time.

In contrast with Hearts, who fielded six Scots the previous evening in their Conference League play-off second leg in Vienna, Rangers fielded only one native in their starting XI, Penrice. Not that this situation could be sustained beyond half-time, so poor was Rangers’ performance in the opening 45 minutes. Three Scottish players were sent on after the interval, all of them internationals. It was hardly the arrival of the cavalry.

If anything, the shake-up – McInnes also changed the shape, to 3-5-2 in possession – saw the visitors get even worse. It perhaps said everything about Rangers’ current problems that their skipper in this game, Dan Neil, was substituted off at half time.

Club skipper Lawrence Shankland, who was benched for the third game in succession, came on at the same time. Although not replacing each other, they were part of a triple change that many interpreted was McInnes acknowledging that going with the same XI who had toiled in the first leg was a mistake.

Although he did convert in the shootout, Shankland laboured once more after replacing Djeidi Gassama. Neil made way for Connor Barron, Curtis for Daisuke Yokota. Rangers had already produced what stood as their only effort on target all night – all 120 minutes of it. A lofted Penrice cross from the left was headed towards the top corner by Tochi Chukwuani. Hanus saved easily.