Derek McInnes is the leader they need and not one they expected when the takeover happened
13:52, 15 Jun 2026Updated 14:16, 15 Jun 2026
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A win-win for all parties.
That’s how Danny Rohl’s move to RB Salzburg has been viewed by many Rangers fans – and perhaps even crucially the Americans in charge at Ibrox.
Andrew Cavenagh gets to dispense with a boss whose popularity in the eyes of the fans had tanked to near-Russell Martin levels without having to go through the unedifying process of sacking a second boss inside eight months.
There’s the added bonus of a hefty pile of compensation cash too, all the while Rohl is allowed to return closer to his young family as he joins the sister club of his old employers in Leipzig.
There you go, smiles all round.
But perhaps there might be a few grins breaking out at Tynecastle too.
Not because the Jambos hierarchy haven’t appreciated the efforts of Derek McInnes these past 12 months.
He took them to within minutes of what a generation of Hearts supporters must have felt was an impossible dream.
McInnes was the man who dared to take on Tony Bloom’s challenge of rivalling the Old Firm and with three minutes remaining at Parkhead on the final day, it looked like he was set to topple a four decade duopoly.
As heartbreaking as Celtic’s late win was for everyone connected to Gorgie, they will have cherished every moment of the season-long thrill ride McInnes took them on — a journey in which they were made to believe the stuff of fantasy could be grasped and held in their hands.
Rangers Chairman Andrew Cavenagh (Image: SNS Group)
That it slipped through their fingers at the death does not detract from the incredible job McInnes did for Hearts.
But as much as the soon-to-be confirmed new manager of Rangers took up the task set for him by his Tynecastle employers, he also pushed back against some of the decisions they were looking to make for him.
Take, for example, Stuart Findlay.
The one-time capped former Scotland defender had his stats analysed by the Jamestown number crunchers and while he got their blessing, it was McInnes who had to push for his signing on a year-long loan from Oxford United.
He’d spent two years working with the big centre-back at Kilmarnock and his instincts as a manager could tell him far more about Findlay’s worth on the pitch and in the dressing room than a laptop ever could.
So McInnes got his man and watched as Findlay went on to form an impressively solid pairing alongside sidekick Craig Halkett.
It was the Gorgie gaffer too who insisted upon retaining a Scottish core to his team when Bloom’s recruitment whizz kids might have preferred to parachute in a raft of signings from second division clubs dotted around the globe.
He could see the benefit in having a local identity within the squad, one that the Hearts faithful could relate to. And by God did they?
The Jamestown recruits like Claudio Braga and Alexandros Kyziridis might have added a flourish to their team but it was the Tartan thread running through McInnes’ Hearts side that ensured the connection with the punters grew stronger by the week.
With all that said, however, it remains true that the manager may not have been the most natural fit when it comes to working with Bloom’s set-up.
And now a year into their link-up with the Brighton and Union Saint-Gilloise owner, they may now be thinking this is the point when they’d like to bring in someone closer to their way of thinking, a coach more in tune with their use of data and the heavy-pressing, direct attacking style of play implemented both at Brighton and USG.
It would have been difficult for them to make that call with McInnes so popular amongst the fans.
So like Cavenagh along the road in Govan, Bloom might very well be smiling at the turn of events that is currently unfolding, with Rohl heading for Austria and McInnes set for an emotional return to his first footballing love.
But while McInnes might not be the right fit for Hearts as they look to develop under the Jamestown model, he is exactly what Rangers need right now in their current state under Cavenagh and the 49ers.
There’s no doubt the Americans are still learning on the job at Ibrox and there have been a few painful lessons early in their tenure at the club.
But they’ve now accepted that the weight of a blue jersey is significantly heavier than strips worn elsewhere and there are unique pressures you simply don’t have to deal with at other clubs.
It was clear they hadn’t taken that into consideration when they appointed the tactical ideologue Martin, and it was an oversight that blew up in their faces within weeks.
It was hoped Rohl might have a better understanding given his stint working as an assistant coach to Hansi Flick at Bayern Munich.
But for all the intensity and scrutiny that surrounds the all-conquering German giants, it’s clearly easier to keep a winning machine heading in the right direction than it is to turn a crashing vehicle out of a tailspin, as was proved by Rohl’s time in Scotland.
Cavenagh has now realised that when it comes to recruiting both players, it’s not enough to simply be good on the ball. Technique will only get you so far at Ibrox but it’s character that gets you across the winning line.
And that’s as true for those picking the team as it is for those playing in it.
Rohl’s team saw their crumble hopelessly in the final weeks of the season, and it’s why the fans reached a conclusion from which they could not be shifted. He had to go.
In time, Rangers might decide they want to go back to that kind of profile, someone who coaches rather than manages.
But right now, they first have to learn how to win. And Derek McInnes is the leader they need.
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