Derek McInnes (June 2026 to date)
Derek John McInnes played 52 times for Rangers between 1995 and 1999, his Ibrox career severely hampered by injury.
In a period when Rangers could call on the midfield talents of Gascoigne, Ian and Barry Ferguson, Durrant, Albertz and McCall, cementing a regular place in the starting XI was always going to represent an uphill challenge. Derek proved to be more than a reliable squad member, playing a significant part in the historic NIAR season of 1996/97.
McInnes had to demonstrate patience in securing a transfer to his boyhood heroes. Despite Rangers initially showing interest in ‘Del’ as a raw 17-year-old at Greenock Morton, he had turned 25 before Walter Smith sanctioned the move in November 1995. If Derek felt that his dream of pulling on the famous blue jersey had been a long time coming, his move into the Ibrox hot seat was even more laborious.
As a player, Derek had plenty of ability and his attitude was never in question. However, it was his leadership qualities that stood out and, having assumed the responsibility of Morton skipper at the tender age of 21, he was perhaps destined to move into management at the end of his playing days.
Derek’s first managerial appointment came on 27th November 2007, when he made the transition from player to boss at St Johnstone following Owen Coyle’s departure to Burnley. In Derek’s first full season in charge, 2008/09, he guided the Perth side back into the SPL following an absence of 7 years. Two successive eighth-place finishes in Scotland’s top tier naturally attracted wider interest in the up and coming manager, and his McDiarmid Park reign ended in October 2011 when he agreed to join Bristol City on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
With Bristol City sitting bottom of the League One (now Championship) table in England, McInnes guided 'The Robins' to safety which included an 8-match unbeaten run at the end of the campaign. Victories over Crystal Palace and Cardiff City at Ashton Gate represented a strong start to the 2012/13 campaign, but between 6th October and 11th November, McInnes’s side went on a run of 7 successive league defeats — an unwanted club record. Having appeared to have steadied the ship, a thumping 0-4 loss to Leicester City on 12th January 2013 resulted in McInnes being sacked, with the Bristol side once again propping up the rest of the league. A change in manager with 20 games remaining ultimately made no difference, with City relegated in 24th place, some 14 points from safety.
Derek had little time to feel sorry for himself, replacing Craig Brown as Aberdeen manager just over two months on from his sacking. With Rangers now having to work their way back from the Scottish Third Division, this was a unique moment in modern day Scottish football, Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibernian and Dundee United all believing they could establish themselves as Celtic’s main challengers.
Whilst the latter three would, incredibly, all suffer relegation events of their own — Hearts and Hibs in 2014, and Dundee United in 2016 — before the return of Rangers in season 2016/17, Derek provided stability at Pittodrie, Aberdeen finishing third in season 2013/14 and runners-up in 2014/15 and 2015/16 respectively.
There was also a first major trophy success for McInnes as he guided the Dons to the League Cup in 2014, a penalty shoot-out victory over Inverness CT at Celtic Park ending a 9 year wait for silverware.
The return of Rangers to the SPL in season 2016/17 meant McInnes now faced a real challenge to hold on to that second-place spot for a third successive season, but his side managed to deliver, ending the campaign nine points above Gers but a massive 30 points behind Celtic. Perhaps more surprisingly, this was repeated in season 2017/18, a final-day victory at Celtic Park ensuring a three-point advantage over Rangers (both sides closing the points gap with Celtic quite considerably).
Aberdeen’s resilience under McInnes had not gone unnoticed and, midway through season 2017/18, Derek was heavily linked with the Rangers managerial position following the abrupt removal of Mark Warburton. If there were differing versions of the events surrounding Warburton and (Davie) Weir’s Ibrox departure, the McInnes speculation only caused greater confusion. It seemed certain that McInnes would be appointed, only for him to declare he wasn’t prepared to walk away from Aberdeen "just yet". In contradicting McInnes, Rangers denied having made an offer and seemed to suggest the job was too big for him. Wherever the truth lay surrounding Warburton and McInnes, Rangers had emerged with little credit. In the end, the Club simply stumbled along until the summer before appointing Steven Gerrard as their next permanent boss.
Years later, Derek would suggest that a long conversation with former Ibrox boss Walter Smith had played a part in him turning down the position in 2017. Whilst he believed Smith wanted him to become Gers manager — a declaration Smith made publicly on at least one occasion — there were aspects of that conversation which appeared to give McInnes cause for concern. Perhaps keen to avoid a repeat of what had happened to Ally McCoist in 2011, it would seem Smith wanted to ensure McInnes was 100% comfortable with the backing he would receive within the Ibrox corridors.
With Gerrard now fully occupied on catching Celtic, Scottish football returned to the more familiar 'two-horse' race, Aberdeen slipping to successive 4th place finishes in 2018/19 and 2019/20. By March 2021, Derek’s eight-year reign at Pittodrie had come to an end, Aberdeen again occupying 4th spot in the SPL table. With Dave Cormack having replaced Stewart Milne — a loyal supporter of McInnes — as chairman, there was much talk of Aberdeen adopting a more attractive style of play, and Stephen Glass was appointed as McInnes’s successor. Glass would be sacked within a year as Aberdeen failed to make the top six in 2021/22. In fact, following the departure of McInnes, the Dons failed to make the top half split on two further occasions (2023/24 and 2025/26). In addition to the unsuccessful Glass, permanent appointments in Goodwin, Robson and Thelin have all come and gone (the latter despite winning the Scottish Cup).
Following a sabbatical of almost a year, McInnes returned to the dugout in January 2022, surprisingly taking over at Championship side Kilmarnock. Derek led the Rugby Park side back to the SPL in his first season and re-established their top flight status with strong finishes in subsequent seasons, including a fourth-place position and a return to European club competition. With season 2024/25 coming to an end, news broke that he would leave Kilmarnock at the end of the campaign to take over at Heart of Midlothian. With the two sides due to face each other on the final day, his impending departure was hastened when it became evident that the Killie support did not welcome the continued presence of McInnes following his decision to move on.
Appointed on a four-year deal, the summer of 2025 was an exciting time for all at Tynecastle following Tony Bloom’s £10m deal to take a 29% stake in the Club. Already reliant on Bloom’s Jamestown analytics model in relation to player recruitment, the Brighton and Hove Albion owner boldly predicted that Hearts would soon disrupt the pattern of Old Firm domination which, to his mind, had existed for too long.
Few could have predicted just how quickly that tide would turn, with Hearts unbeaten in their opening 12 league matches, a run which included victories over Rangers and Celtic. They maintained their 100% record over the Old Firm and held a three-point advantage at the top of the table as 2025 disappeared into the horizon. With injuries and suspensions mounting, three defeats in six matches, including a reversal at Rugby Park, appeared to be somewhat derailing their title aspirations. However, a run of seven matches undefeated saw McInnes take his side to Celtic Park on the final day of the season in the knowledge that a draw would see the title return to Tynecastle for the first time since 1960. With the score level going into the closing stages, the home side netted two late goals to rescue the situation amid chaotic and unsavoury scenes. The three-way title race had certainly caught the imagination of football supporters far and wide, almost all believing that it was a trophy Hearts fully deserved to win. Ultimately, in an industry of fine margins, a refereeing decision at Fir Park seven days before the title decider, when Hearts were incorrectly denied a clear penalty, may well have proved to be the difference.
Within weeks of the dramatic climax to the 2025/26 season, Hearts were dealt a further blow when it emerged that their prolific striker and captain, Lawrence Shankland, would be joining Rangers, his contract situation with the Edinburgh side not quite as water tight as it had appeared. Less than three weeks later, Shankland would attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup Finals aware that he would be reunited with his old boss on his return to Scotland. On this occasion, Rangers were decisive, moving swiftly to appoint Derek following Rohl’s proposed exit to RB Salzburg.
The official Club announcements were made on 17th June, 2026. Pointedly, McInnes was unveiled as 'Manager of Rangers Football Club'.
With almost 20 years of managerial experience under his belt, Derek McInnes knows the Scottish Premiership better than anyone. Having played at the Club during one of the greatest periods in its history (and under one of its most respected managers) he fully understands the expectations and standards required to succeed at Ibrox. A pragmatic manager, McInnes has demonstrated that he knows how to win games of football with inferior resources, even if it is not always particularly pleasing on the eye. A leader of men, and with the traditions of the Club running through his veins, Derek is very much in the mould of the man who heavily touted him for the job: Walter Smith.
If McInnes can achieve anywhere close to the level of success Smith brought to the Club, then his appointment, almost nine years in the making, may be Andrew Cavanagh’s best decision to date.
The Rangers Archives wish Derek the best of luck as we look forward to a new era.
by Rick Plews
