Walking up the Marble Staircase as Rangers manager for the first time, Derek McInnes was stopped in his tracks by a powerful and emotional flashback.
The memory transported the 54-year-old back three decades to the only other occasion he had ever set foot inside the Ibrox manager’s office.
That first visit came when McInnes signed for Walter Smith’s dominant Rangers side of the mid-1990s, completing a £300,000 switch from Morton.
He had pushed open the door expecting to find Smith seated behind the imposing desk, ready to finalise the paperwork on the transfer.
Instead, he was greeted by the sight of his father Duncan, beer in hand, laughing and chatting with one of Scottish football’s most celebrated managers.
Smith had taken time from his demanding schedule to ensure the occasion was unforgettable for both father and son, a gesture that has stayed with McInnes ever since.
That memory came flooding back this week as McInnes was confirmed as the 22nd permanent manager to take ownership of that historic office.
Sadly, Smith passed away five years ago this October, and McInnes lost his own father 26 years ago, but he believes both men would have been watching with pride.
“They came back to me when I walked into the gaffer’s room at the top of the stairs,” said an emotional McInnes, known widely as Del.
“Wednesday is only the second time I’ve actually been in it. The first was the day I signed.”
McInnes recalled arriving back from his medical to find the two men at ease together, recounting with warmth how he told his father, “Check you out,” only to be told, “Aye, I’m just chatting with Walter.”
“Clearly the gaffer knew it was a special day all round, probably even more so for my dad, who was a big Rangers supporter,” McInnes said.
“I think he was determined to make that day as good as he could for him. It meant a lot.”
McInnes also revealed he received a touching message from the Smith family, both at the end of his time with Hearts and again in recent days following his Ibrox appointment.
Now, with the sentimentality of his unveiling behind him, the new manager is focused on building a squad capable of competing for honours.
McInnes met his new players on Thursday for the first time, with Lawrence Shankland and the returning Ross McCrorie among the early additions to the squad.
More signings are expected in the coming weeks as McInnes looks to assemble a group that reflects his own values and style of play.
Those values were shaped significantly by his time in a Rangers dressing room that contained figures like Ally McCoist, Paul Gascoigne, Ian Durrant, Richard Gough, and Andy Goram.
“I had other options, financially better options, to go down south,” McInnes said, “but it was the conversations with the gaffer really that convinced me to come.”
He stressed that togetherness and genuine character will be central to how he builds this Rangers side, noting that “together you can do a hell of a lot more.”
“So I saw what spirit and team togetherness and being proper people, and we had a dressing room full of proper good people, and it’s important that we have something close to that this time around,” he said.
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