Rangers: Derek McInnes says he ‘belongs’ at Ibrox as he vows to win the Scottish Premiership as soon as possible | Football news

Derek McInnes says he “belongs” to Rangers after being introduced as the club’s new manager and set his sights on winning the Scottish Premiership title as soon as possible.

The 54-year-old admitted he was surprised to take over at Rangers this summer after being appointed as the replacement for Danny Röhl, who left to join RB Salzburg last week.

McInnes is minutes away from guiding Hearts to the Premiership title last season but has returned to Ibrox where he worked as a player from 1995-2000 and insists the time seems right for him to take over the club he supported as a child.

“It is a very important moment for me, my family, there are many people I can think of on a day like this, but as I have known the club for a long time, I support the club, I know very well the responsibility that comes with being a manager,” said McInnes.

“So, I’m excited to get going, I feel like it’s the right time for me and I feel like I’m ready. I feel like I belong here and I’m ready to get on with it and I’m looking forward to just getting started.

“We want to try and bring a team that meets the needs here. I feel the Rangers fans – we’ve won one title in 15 years – have suffered for a long time and it’s up to us now to try and play a key role in driving standards and getting a winning Rangers team on the pitch more often than not.

“I have an idea of ​​what my Rangers team should look like and I hope it is the same as what Rangers fans want.

“Being the manager of Rangers is something I always wanted to do. This call surprised me when it came because obviously the manager was here. I was on my vacation and things started to get busy for five or six days.

“Being the manager of Rangers is something I have always wanted and I feel comfortable with the decision that has been made, and to be here feels right.”

McInnes: This club has to be successful

McInnes is Rangers’ 22nd full-time manager and is appointed for the seventh time in eight years following a barren spell of title and cup success.

A three-time winner with the club as a player, McInnes knows the expectations of the staff on and off the pitch and insists he is back at the club to win.

“Many managers sit in this position on their first day and say they will do this and they will do this and it is easy to say things but very difficult to do. There is work to be done here but we will do it well. The aim is to ensure that the work is done next season in terms of the recruitment of players.

“It takes more than being a top player to play for Rangers and deal with the expectations. There has to be a lot more under the bonnet and deal with the expectations and I feel that part of my job and the staff’s job is to try to do more with the existing squad but also to add players that can help us be successful.

“I’m not kidding, I know that if we don’t win trophies it will be someone else sitting here before long but I come here with the confidence that, with the resources we have, the existing infrastructure and the support I get from people above us, that this should be a winning team for Rangers and this is a club that should be winning.

“Rangers give me the best chance to win and that’s important. I know what I can bring to Rangers but, equally, I know what Rangers can give to me.”

McInnes: The aim is to win the title as soon as possible

Hearts impressed under McInnes last term with their ability to play on the front foot and their tenacity to get over the line in scrappy games.

Conversely, in recent years, some Rangers fans believe their side have become quieter and easier to play against at home while enjoying some European victories. McInnes aims to rectify that and, while he wants Rangers to win across the board, home success will be paramount.

“The job here is to win, I’m not going to talk about philosophies,” he said. “I know how I want my team to play, I think I’ve shown that to my teams for a long time. The aim is to win – we need to win here.

“I want us to try to get the opposition to commit. I don’t want teams to come here and feel comfortable and play their way into the game and suddenly maybe that fear isn’t there when they play Rangers.

“We have to make teams struggle when they play with us, we have to harass them and we have to try to play in a way that allows us to do that.

“We have good players at the moment and we will sign good players. You have to be at a high level to be a Rangers player but it takes more than that, you have to have the identity and the drive to win home games.

“We want to do well everywhere in Europe but we need to start qualifying and win trophies at home and that for me is important.

“The aim is to win the title as soon as possible.”

McInnes in summer rental

Rangers have already signed Lawrence Shankland, who captained Hearts under McInnes, and the new manager insists that whoever joins the Scotland striker must demand the responsibility of meeting expectations at Ibrox.

“I want the players to see that, if you sign for Rangers, it is in their hands that part of the reason if they sign here is to be successful, they feel that responsibility,” he said.

“A lot of players will sign for a club for a lot of reasons – location, financial reasons, everything else – but there has to be a part that if we all sign here it’s to win trophies and be successful because if you’re not here, you’re not here for long and it’s not a good place to be there without winning. I want to enjoy being the manager of Rangers and I’m happy to be the manager of Rangers by only winning games and I’m happy to only win games here.

“The heat and all the noise comes quickly when you don’t win and we have a period where we haven’t won enough so it’s our job to try to change that. It’s not the words that will do it, it’s the actions, day by day, values, it drives the pace of everything, but working with good players will be an important part and important players will be an important part of being here.”

He added: “We will not get everything we want [in the transfer window] and not many clubs do it, but it is important that we use the money we have, the budget we have to work with, well.

“I like to think we have players in the building who can play a little bit and it’s up to us and the staff to bring that out of them. There may be changes, players leaving, players coming in, but every player that comes in will give us something. We’re working hard at the moment to try to make sure we bring in the quality of player that will meet the expectations but also give us what we need.”

“Last season I think Rangers showed at times during the games how good they were. Each person was very good but I think it’s up to us to try and make us a team and try to make sure that in the tough games we win. There were a lot of draws last season and trying to find those answers in the game but for that you need to have confident players. I want a confident Rangers player, a confident Rangers team.”

McInnes: Conditions were not good in 2017

McInnes turned down the chance to take over at Rangers during his time at Aberdeen and insisted the time was not yet back in 2017 but is delighted to have been given the chance again.

“I feel like I was ready at that time but it was a different situation and there was a lot going on at that time,” he said.

“I was leaving a really secure team at Aberdeen and I had a great time at Aberdeen. At the time, I wanted to be Rangers manager again but it was a different ownership, a different set of circumstances, a different feeling, honesty, as soon as we got into the discussions and the discussions.

“I think today will be the manager of Rangers rather than looking back. I’m just happy that I’ve been given the opportunity to be asked again and with that I’m eager to continue.”

Gillespie: We let Röhl go so we could hire McInnes

Rangers’ last two hires in Russell Martin and Röhl have been made as head coaches but McInnes will be Rangers manager, a position normally held by anyone in the club’s ranks.

Chief executive Jim Gillespie says it was important to hire McInnes as manager and insists Rangers decided to let Röhl leave the club because they wanted to appoint McInnes.

“In the end, we gave a nod to the history of this football club and it was important to Derek and it’s important for us to do that and that’s why he’s the manager of Rangers,” Gillespie said. “We supported Danny in May and things changed over time. The decision for Danny to continue was our decision, the decision of Rangers Football Club.

“Danny had a contract with Rangers and he didn’t buy anything so, in the end, we could have told Salzburg that he wasn’t selling but we decided that we wanted to bring Derek and that was the motivation to let Danny bring Derek because he was a man we had already highlighted that could bring success to Rangers.”