adminDerek McInnes has endured a baptism of fire since taking charge at Rangers.
The unexpected departure of Danny Rohl at the beginning of the summer left Rangers scrambling to appoint yet another new manager.
Rangers eventually settled on luring McInnes away from Hearts after he came close to guiding them to a memorable Scottish Premiership title.
However, against the backdrop of a major squad rebuild, Rangers have opened the campaign in hugely unconvincing fashion.
Not only have Rangers been eliminated from European competition altogether, but they have also failed to impress in the Scottish Premiership – although gritty victories at Aberdeen and Falkirk have taken some of the heat off.
McInnes knows he is approaching a crucial spell, and former Celtic winger McGeady outlined the reason Rangers’ board could be forced to dismiss him.
What could prompt the board to sack Derek McInnes?
Rangers have enjoyed a record summer of spending in the Scottish Premiership, splashing more than £35million.
McInnes has watched 13 players come through the door during an extremely busy summer recruitment operation, with the arrivals of Minsu Kim and Kevin Kelsy bringing their business to a close.
In September, Rangers will meet Old Firm rivals Celtic twice – once in the Scottish League Cup and again in the Scottish Premiership.
Guests Mark Guidi and Aiden McGeady discussed just how significant the period could be for McInnes on the Go Football Radio Show.
Journalist Guidi said: “I don’t think you can afford to lose both games to Celtic. But equally, Rangers can’t keep changing managers. The fans need to accept it as well, it’s not the rangers of 25/30 years ago, and nine in a row, and Dick Advocaat. It’s one title in 15 years.
“At some point you have to say ‘okay, as a football club what do we need to do to arrest the decline?’
“Because it can’t always be down to the manager, there’s been some top managers in the door and they’ve fired them all. So, it’s about the football club and what they do as a business and what they do on the park on a Saturday.”
However, McGeady feels that considering the significant investment made by the board, they will expect McInnes to produce results to justify the expenditure.
McGeady said: “For me, though, at some point something’s got to give. I know you say you can’t keep changing managers, but what are the board going to say when they’ve spent that amount of money?
“They’ve spent so much money, so to then have a manager in place who might not be successful this season, might not win a trophy. To then not change him, you’re gonna have to change it.”
McInnes will have no Rangers illusions
McInnes was raised as a Rangers supporter, meaning he will have absolutely no doubt about the level of pressure he is facing.
Two things can be true at the same time here. Yes, constantly changing managers is unlikely to help matters.
But the expectation of success becomes crystal clear from the moment you walk through the doors at Ibrox.
McInnes will not want it any other way. However, he knows that he simply has to deliver the goods or he will inevitably become the latest Rangers manager to find himself on the scrapheap.
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