Glasgow, 07.11.2018, Ibrox Stadion, Fussball, Scottish Premiership, Glasgow Rangers Imago Images
McInnes will lead Rangers out for the first time when West Ham United visit Ibrox next month for a pre-season friendly encounter.
The match may only be a warm-up game, but for McInnes it carries enormous personal significance as he prepares to manage his boyhood club.
The 54-year-old has harboured ambitions of managing Rangers since the day he decided to move into coaching more than two decades ago.
Taking charge at Ibrox was his number one goal from the moment he hung up his boots and began planning a career in management.
McInnes is fully aware, however, that the Ibrox environment can be as damaging as it is inspiring for players who struggle under its intensity.
He has seen how the pressure of performing at the famous old stadium has, in recent times, inflicted serious damage on players and coaches alike.
The new Rangers boss is now determined to protect his squad from those pressures while building a team that genuinely thrives on playing at Ibrox.
“Yeah, I don’t want any players going onto the pitch with any sort of anxiety or dread about it,” he said.
“Players need to want to play at Ibrox, it should be that they cannae wait for the game, they cannae wait to turn up, they cannae wait to set about the task.”
McInnes added that if players embrace that mentality, the supporters will respond in kind, stressing that the fans are desperate to get behind something worth believing in.
“I understand it’s easy for me to say it, and there’s been other managers saying similar things, but it’s important that they actually see a difference, and hopefully we can see that right from the get go,” he said.
There is also added incentive for McInnes to savour the West Ham friendly, given that a four-game touchline ban looms following a charge related to last season’s controversial title race finale.
“Of course, walking down the tunnel with the team in that first game will be special, even though it’s only a friendly,” he said.
“It’ll be a good friendly. West Ham are obviously a big club and the game will have everything that brings with that. So I’m looking forward to that moment.”
Away from matchday preparations, McInnes has been building a working relationship with club chairman Andrew Cavenagh, with the pair already aligned on their shared ambitions for the club.
McInnes was on holiday in the United States when Cavenagh called him home to take the job, with the two men conducting much of their early communication by phone.
“The conversations with Andrew have been really positive. He made it clear that he wanted me to be the manager, there was nobody else part of the conversation,” McInnes confirmed.
Cavenagh made clear he would provide every possible level of support to help McInnes assemble the squad needed to challenge for silverware this coming season.
“Across the club it’s the same words being used about standards, making sure that we are a winning club as well as just a brilliant football club,” McInnes said.
The Rangers boss was clear that personal success is inseparable from team success, stating that he can only become a brilliant Rangers manager by lifting trophies.
“I think the board see that as well, they’ve invested already a significant amount of money and a significant amount of time, but everybody wants to be rewarded by silverware and success, and that’s what we’re all jointly trying to achieve,” he said.
About the Author
