David Moyes compared Arne Slot's Liverpool to Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United (Credits: Imago Images)
Sir Alex Ferguson has personally congratulated Derek McInnes on his appointment as Rangers manager, the new Ibrox boss has confirmed.
McInnes, who returns to the club he grew up supporting, was headhunted from Hearts to replace Danny Rohl in the Ibrox dugout.
The former Rangers midfielder admits he feared his chance to manage the club had permanently passed him by after a failed approach nearly a decade ago.
His name had been linked with the top job at Ibrox on numerous occasions since Dave King first made contact in 2017 during his time as chairman.
That approach ultimately came to nothing after McInnes, then Aberdeen manager, developed cold feet over concerns about working with King and was persuaded to remain at Pittodrie.
The two figures who convinced him to stay at the time were Sir Alex Ferguson and the late Walter Smith, both of whom he described as his great mentors.
McInnes said: “Aye, I spoke to Sir Alex the other day actually, he was delighted.”
He added: “He enjoyed coming to see our stuff at Hearts last season and he thought we had a special thing going.”
McInnes continued: “But he understood why I’m here, and we had a good chat the other day. He sounded in good form. Obviously he’s not been in the best of health, so I’m delighted to have that chat with him.”
The 54-year-old becomes just the 22nd man to occupy the manager’s chair at the club, a fact that underlines the weight of the role.
It took American chairman Andrew Cavenagh and CEO Jim Gillespie to finally make an approach that McInnes felt he could not turn down.
He acknowledged that the changed ownership structure made a significant difference to his decision this time around, compared to the situation in 2017.
McInnes said: “I did say it would probably have to be a different set of circumstances, different owners and people with who there wasn’t that sort of history from that time.”
He reflected openly on the earlier episode, saying: “The two people that I spoke to at the time obviously were Walter and Sir Alex.”
McInnes confirmed that Ferguson himself referenced those earlier conversations during their recent call, saying: “Sir Alex reminded me of the conversations we had back then when we spoke this week.”
He added: “Both he and Walter were adamant that I made the right call. They supported me on that and advised me based on the circumstances then.”
Looking ahead, McInnes expressed confidence in the current setup at Ibrox, citing the relationship between Cavenagh and Gillespie as a source of genuine optimism.
He said: “I do feel there’s a confidence with the ownership here,” pointing to what he described as a clear and unified vision both on and off the pitch.
McInnes was candid about the pressure that comes with the job, saying: “I feel the weight of responsibility, and it’s a responsibility that I’m well aware of, that we need to do our job well here.”
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