Gordon Strachan is convinced Derek McInnes has the mental toughness required to succeed as Rangers manager because he refuses to be bullied.
The former Celtic boss believes the 55-year-old’s combative personality will help him win over the Ibrox dressing room ahead of a critical derby double-header.
McInnes endured a nightmare start to life at Rangers, with his new-look side dumped out of European qualifying by Jagiellonia Bialystok and Jablonec.
The Light Blues have since found their footing, stringing together four consecutive Premiership victories heading into their two clashes with Martin O’Neill’s Celtic side.
Strachan, who spent four years in charge on the other side of the city, believes McInnes’s character will serve him well despite a demanding summer of recruitment.
Speaking to Midnite as part of its Built Different Index launch, Strachan said: “First of all, every week you have to perform as a player and a manager to keep up to the standards of what is expected of you at Rangers.”
Strachan also pointed to the widening financial chasm between Scottish football and the Championship in England as a major structural challenge for both Glasgow clubs.
He said: “You have to remember that when Celtic went to Seville, they had the fifth-highest wage bill in British football. Now they can’t compete with Birmingham, or even Burnley.”
Strachan added: “Rangers were up there as well, they had a huge wage bill! In the 1980s when Souness was there, they were as big as anybody in Britain. Wages are way down now. Birmingham spend fortunes on players, and give them fortunes of wages. We can’t do it, it’s a different world we’re dealing with now.”
The comments reflect a broader concern within Scottish football about the game’s ability to remain competitive against the financial firepower of English lower-league clubs.
Strachan, who has spent the past seven years working as a technical director at Dundee, believes a distinct two-tiered system now defines the landscape of Scottish football.
His observations carry weight given his experience managing at the highest level in Scotland, making his endorsement of McInnes particularly notable at such a delicate moment.
The derby double-header now takes on added significance, with McInnes needing results to silence early doubters and demonstrate he can deliver in the biggest fixtures of the Scottish calendar.
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