Derek McInnes has come out fighting over his nightmare start at Rangers by insisting his struggling side “aren’t as bad as people think” after another damaging defeat.
The 55-year-old remains without a victory since taking charge at Ibrox after Rangers suffered a 2-1 home defeat against Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership.
McInnes has now failed to win any of his opening three matches and Rangers already find themselves five points behind Celtic and St Mirren after just two league fixtures.
There was further misery on Saturday when star striker Youssef Chermiti was carried off on a stretcher with a knee injury, just days after Rangers reportedly rejected a £22million approach from Galatasaray.
Despite the increasingly difficult situation, McInnes has launched a passionate defence of his players and urged everybody at Ibrox to remain united.
“We’re not as bad as some people will be saying at the minute,” he told Sky Sports.
“And I think it’s important that we just batten down the hatches, stay strong, stay together.
“We try, as a club, to come out of this window strong and we will.
Derek McInnes has come out fighting over his nightmare start at Rangers by insisting his struggling side “aren’t as bad as people think” after another damaging defeat
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“We’re not at the start we wanted but we still plan to get the finish and the outcome that we want and we’ll work towards that.”
Rangers fell behind after just 11 minutes when VAR intervened over Vanja Dragojevic’s challenge on Jason Kerr inside the penalty area.
Josh Campbell converted from the spot with what was Hibs’ first attempt of the match, but McInnes was adamant the penalty should never have been awarded.
“I think it was a wrong decision that made us go behind in the first place,” he said.
Hibernian players celebrate during their Scottish Premiership match with Rangers
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“I hadn’t seen it at the time and I’ve seen it since and I don’t think it’s a penalty kick.
“I don’t think the referee should be brought over.”
McInnes conceded his team had been “slow” and “pedestrian” at stages but remained convinced Rangers deserved more from the contest.
“We were the better team,” he added. “We weren’t great but we were better than Hibs and I think it was harsh on my players to be on the losing side.”
However, potentially of even greater concern was the sight of Chermiti leaving the pitch before half-time.
The 22-year-old enjoyed an impressive campaign last season, scoring 15 goals and contributing another five assists after arriving in Glasgow in a deal worth up to £10m.
Galatasaray have subsequently attempted to prise him away from Ibrox, with a reported £22m bid rejected.
That figure would have exceeded the club-record fee Rangers received when Calvin Bassey joined Ajax, but McInnes stressed Chermiti remains an integral part of his plans.
Derek McInnes is yet to win any of his three Rangers matches so far
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“I think the fact that the club rejected such a big number would suggest how important he is to us, so we’re delighted from that side of it,” he said.
“He’ll get a scan tomorrow. He’ll leave here today in a boot and a brace.
“It’s a knee injury of some sort but I think it would be silly to speculate anything until we get the scan results tomorrow.
“Hopefully he’s been lucky because we could certainly do a bit of that.”
