Until Sunday's trip north to former club Aberdeen, Derek McInnes had not really enjoyed watching his Rangers team. There had been flashes of fun in the dugout for the Ibrox boss, but a run of two wins in seven matches meant his dream job was in danger of spiralling out of control. Having overseen European elimination before the end of August, McInnes led his players to Pittodrie with pressure intensifying around his future.
However, despite delivering another unconvincing display, the Rangers manager believes the hard-fought Scottish Premiership win, earned by Lawrence Shankland's second-half penalty, can lay the foundations for a successful tenure. "Contrasting feelings from Thursday night," McInnes said. "It was a tough few days for us all.
I thought today we were far more like the Rangers team I want us to be. "Probably for the first time this season, I really, really enjoyed watching the team. "There have been moments of enjoyment, a couple of wins and some passages of play, but we know when we come here that you can't be sparkling for 90 minutes.
"You need to compete and bring quality, and I thought we did all that." Respite for under-pressure McInnes as Rangers edge out Aberdeen Rangers to give Celtic 300 tickets for cup game Visit our Rangers page for all the latest news, analysis and fan views Although Chris Sutton described Rangers' showing as a "bitty performance", the former Celtic striker questioned whether this could a "turning point" for McInnes. Kris Boyd said he "won't get carried away" but expressed how getting the result was the priority for his old club, adding on Sky Sports: "Rangers came up here and got three points - that was the most important thing." That was echoed by McInnes, who told BBC Scotland he would have "taken any win" following Thursday's humiliating Conference League qualifying exit to Jablonec. "It's great to have a winning performance," the Rangers boss added.
"The next game [away to Falkirk] comes around quickly and we need to get ready. "Three games into the league campaign, it's not been the start we wanted. But we saw last season that Rangers went so far behind and they still got themselves back into a title race.
"It's small steps in terms of points and performance. It will do the players the world of good." McInnes singled out Kim Min-su for praise. The 20-year-old South Korean impressed on his debut at Pittodrie after just one training session with his new team-mates.
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