Rangers reaction: McInnes' out of order admission, new signings plea, desire claim

Frustration got the better of the new Ibrox manager, who is already the subject of a pending four-match touchline ban for an alleged offence while he was with Hearts, at the end of the 1-1 draw with Dundee United at Tannadice on Friday night.

It is now four years since Rangers celebrated an opening day win. McInnes had stressed that “there's no excuse if we don't win the game” on the eve of the match. But this is exactly what happened.

Australian striker Lachlan Rose gave United the lead six minutes before half time. Although Rangers equalised 11 minutes into the second half through Thelo Aasgaard, the visitors could not summon a winner.

Indeed, United came closest to securing all three points. New Zealander Jesse Randall passed up a glorious chance to score near the end but chipped weakly into Ivor Pandur’s midriff in a one-on-one situation. Like last season at Motherwell under Russell Martin, Rangers start the season with a 1-1 away draw.

A well-timed tackle in the dying moments by Emmanuel Agyei on Mo Diomande saw Rangers fans claim for a penalty but Nick Walsh was unmoved. His award of a goalkick – the ball had hit Diomande last – enraged McInnes, who had a few choice words for Walsh at the end. The manager apologised later.

“I spoke to the referee (later) and said that I shouldn’t have approached him on the pitch,’” he admitted. “I don’t know. It just looked like a corner, even from the players’ reaction. But I shouldn’t have approached the ref on the pitch. I should've approached him in the referee room, as I did do at the end.”

Desire to get Rangers equaliser ‘was clear’

It was a sign of how desperate things were getting for Rangers that a thwarted corner could create such a fuss. As much as McInnes had impressed upon the players the importance of beginning their title challenge on the front foot, the manager acknowledged his side had not done enough to win. He admonished the players for showing more desire to equalise than they did when trying to grab the winner.

“I thought the desire to get the equaliser was clear,” he said. “I felt for five minutes or so after that, it was still clear we were going to get the winner, but I thought the desire to get the winning goal wasn’t quite the same as the desire to get the equaliser, and I’m disappointed that we never kept the shoulder to the wheel. It wasn’t through a lack of effort. I need to stress that, because I thought they looked fit enough and I thought we looked determined enough. It was just the little basic mistakes, the bitty mistakes and silly decision‑making. All that does is it gives them (United) encouragement.”

As he insisted before the match, there were no excuses. But he did suggest lack of competitive games compared with United, who were playing their fifth match compared to Rangers’ first, was an issue. He also stressed that new players “need to land soon” if the Ibrox side are to prosper domestically and in Europe.

In total, Rangers handed competitive debuts to six players but McInnes has already spoken of needing more additions, including a wide right player and two more defenders. "The squad will look far stronger when we come out of this window but there are games that need our full attention, we have games to deal with." Rangers play the away leg of their Europa League third qualifying tie against Polish side Jagiellonia on Thursday before hosting Hibs next Sunday.

On the lack of competitive action issue, he said: “I didn’t want to make a big deal of that ahead of this game. We’ve got so many obvious advantages that come with Rangers and what we can do in terms of transfers and level of players. But that competitive edge is clear - it’s hard to replicate that.

“As much as you try through your training, as much as you try through your pre‑season friendlies, and we’ve had some decent opponents for that, nothing prepares you better than competitive football.

“But it’s not an excuse. I just feel as though the players… nobody’s going to be perfect at this stage of the season. I watched United (in the Premier Sports Cup) against Montrose, it was their first competitive game of the season, and they looked far better, far sharper here than they did that night.

“But we have got to quickly take the good from the game in terms of fitness. I like the character of the team, the determination of the team. But I still expect better.

“I know the evidence today would suggest we’ve still got loads and loads to do,” he added. “And I get that, but I do think we have got enough to be encouraged about. But the new signings need to land pretty soon, I need to say that.

“Everybody’s worked hard to get the right players in, and I appreciate the effort that’s been made. But we’ve got important games, important league games, important European games, and we’re just really trying to crank that up to try and get players in the building as quickly as possible.”