Manager

Rangers named Derek McInnes as their permanent manager in June 2026 to replace Danny Rohl, who joined RB Salzburg. The Scotsman was handed a three-year deal at Ibrox.

The Govan giants sought to hire McInnes after the departure of the previous boss, Rohl. He was officially hired the day Rohl officially parted ways with the club. By getting compensation for the German and paying Hearts a small fee for McInnes, they ended up making a seven-figure profit.

After snubbing Rangers in 2017, McInnes did not make the same decision the second time of asking. He has added Alan Archibald, Paul Sheerin and Craig Clark to his coaching staff.

McInnes began his managerial career in 2007 at St Johnstone, months after retiring as a player for them. He secured promotion to the Scottish Premier League in 2009, ending the club’s seven-year stay in the second tier.

Following this, he moved to Bristol City in 2011 and took the team on an eight-game unbeaten run that helped them avoid relegation that season. In 2013, he returned to Scotland after parting ways with the English club and has been in the country since then. He was in charge of Aberdeen for eight seasons, and spent three years at Kilmarnock and also a year at Hearts, where he nearly guided the Tynecastle outfit to the Scottish Premiership title.

Derek McInnes’ managerial history

Rangers manager McInnes was hired by St Johnstone to secure promotion, and he managed to do that, winning over the players and the fans. He was then approached by Bristol City, and St Johnstone granted him permission to speak to them. At the end of his tenure at McDiarmid Park, his record was 71 wins, 53 draws and 53 losses.

He took over a Bristol City side that were bottom of the English Championship, but managed to turn things around and helped them avoid relegation in his first season at the club. However, things soured the following season, and the club lost seven games on the spin, which saw them eight points adrift at the bottom of the table. This made his time at Ashton Gate untenable.

In 2013, McInnes was back in Scotland, this time in charge of Aberdeen. He started strongly there, winning the Manager of the Month award in September that year and also won the same honour in February, a few months later.

McInnes’ strong first season at Pittodrie culminated in him guiding them to the silverware, as they won the Scottish League Cup, which was their first major honour in 19 years. Ahead of the final, he signed a contract extension until 2017.

The following season, they qualified for the UEFA Europa League and finished in second place in the Scottish Premiership. In the 2015/16 campaign, McInnes’ side pushed Celtic all the way until the final couple of games for the title, but ended up falling short. In the season after, under his stewardship, Aberdeen managed to secure their first win at Ibrox since 1991.

Sunderland came knocking in 2017, and Aberdeen even granted permission to McInnes to speak to the Black Cats, but he did not leave Pittodrie for the Stadium of Light. His tenure at the club did eventually come to an end in March 2021, when he parted ways with them by mutual consent.

McInnes was appointed Kilmarnock manager in January 2022, and the Scotsman had an immediate impact at Rugby Park, guiding a side that were in fourth place to winning the Championship and that secured their return to the top flight.

In the three years he spent there, he guided Kilmarnock to fourth place in the league, UEFA Europa League qualification, and a fourth-placed finish in the league. He also won the SFWA Manager of the Year in 2024.

McInnes then joined Hearts ahead of the 2025/26 season and started the campaign strongly, with the team being undefeated until November, sitting at the top of the Premiership standings. This saw him winning the Manager of the Month awards in August, September and October 2025. He led the club to their highest league finish, 2nd, in 20 years. McInnes could have guided them to the title had Hearts held Celtic to a draw on the final day of the season.

Ahead of the 2026/27 season, Rangers came knocking and managed to reach an agreement to bring the Scotsman to Ibrox.

McInnes’ coaching career

• Rangers – (June 2026 – present)
• Hearts – (May 2025 – June 2026)
• Kilmarnock – (January 2022 – March 2025)
• Aberdeen – (March 2013 – March 2021)
• Bristol City – (October 2011 – January 2013)
• St Johnstone – (November 2007 – October 2011)

McInnes’ playing career

McInnes enjoyed a solid 20-year career as a tough-tackling central midfielder who was known for his leadership, work rate, and consistency. He made over 500 senior appearances across Scottish and English clubs, including two caps for Scotland.

The former midfielder began at Greenock Morton in 1988 as a teenager. In over nine seasons there, he became a club stalwart, making 224 league appearances and scoring 19 league goals. He helped the club in the lower tiers of Scottish football, being one of their key players week in and week out. Despite interest from bigger clubs like Liverpool and Manchester United, he stayed loyal before a £300,000 move to Rangers in November 1995.

At Ibrox, he was primarily a squad player under Walter Smith, making over 50 appearances in all competitions and scoring once. His highlight came in 1999 when he contributed to the domestic treble, winning the Scottish Cup. He also had loan spells at Stockport County and Toulouse.

In 2000, McInnes joined West Bromwich Albion, playing nearly 100 games for the English club, helping them in the First Division. He returned to Scotland with Dundee United, followed by short stints at Millwall and St Johnstone, where he retired.