Derek McInnes insists Rangers "will get there" despite Hibs defeat
Derek McInnes insists he will get to where he wants to go with Rangers despite the 2-1 defeat by Hibernian leaving him without a win in his first three games a Gers boss.
A 1-1 William Premiership League draw at Dundee United and a 2-1 Europa League qualifying defeat by Jagiellonia Bialystok preceded his first game in charge at Ibrox, where the visitors took the lead in the 11th minute with a Josh Campbell penalty.
Light Blues forward Youssef Chermiti, subject to a failed bid by Galatasaray for a reported club record fee of £22million, had to go off before the break after picking up an impact injury but Rangers kept pressing and Hibs defender Miguel Chaiwa turned the ball into his own net for the equaliser but in the third minute of added time, substitute Callum Wright's deflected shot handed the Hibees a stunning winner.
With Celtic, who have won 14 out of the last 15 titles, and St Mirren are both on six points from two William Hill Premiership games, while Rangers are five points behind and those fans who stayed until the end vented their frustration.
"I understand the frustration, I share the frustration," said McInnes, who revealed Chermiti left Ibrox with his "knee in a brace" to be scanned on Monday.
"It's 15 years of frustration here at this club. Nobody knows that more than me. We won one title (during Covid times). Fans didn't even get to see the title win.
"So every Rangers team is a by-product of that frustration.
"So the Rangers fans just want to see their team winning and so do I. And we will get there.
"I'm not going to ask the fans for more patience because I think the Rangers fans have been patient enough.
"So it's up to us to give them a winning team more often than not. And we will get there. We could do with some help.
"And we're working hard to try and get some bodies in. And we could do with a wee bit more luck than we got today, certainly."
McInnes welcomed Rangers rejecting the huge bid for Chermiti but has to wait to ascertain the extent of his injury.
He said: "The bid was rejected, which we are delighted about. We know it's a big number that came in for him.
"But we have got plans for Youssef to be with us this season and be part of something, we're so delighted to be that side there.
"Disappointed for the big fella that he has to come off on a stretcher. I thought he was looking bright and running gaps.
"He played with a bit of purpose. And there's no doubt he missed that. But he's left on a boot and his knee in a brace. And we'll get him scanned tomorrow.
"So, we don't want people to speculate. But hopefully, we'll get some luck on the scan tomorrow and he can be back in a Rangers shirt before too long."
On reports that Turkish side Corum FK are keen on midfielder Mohamed Diomande, he said: I think there may be some conversations going on about that. I don't know if there's been an official bid or anything like that. But I can't really comment on it, to be honest."
It was the first time that Hibs had won at Ibrox in three successive seasons and boss David Gray said: "A lot of people speak about history and usually it's because something's not been done for a very long time and it's a negative thing.
“I've always tried to challenge the group to recreate our own history. That's certainly something I spoke about today.
“I actually asked the group, when do you think the last time it's been done? Nobody knew the answer clearly, but it's because it's never been done before.
“It shows you how good an achievement it is. At times we had to ride our luck, we had to go under immense pressure, but the belief there and they should be really pleased with that and I'm delighted for them because they deserve it."
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