McInnes vows Rangers' revival after Europa exit as season stalls

Rangers manager Derek McInnes declared on Thursday that he can reverse his side’s disastrous start after a 3‑2 aggregate defeat to Jagiellonia Bialystok in the Europa League qualifiers and zero points from four games at Ibrox, they trail Celtic by five points in the title race.

By CALUM CROWE, SCOTTISH DEPUTY CHIEF SPORTS WRITER. Published: 17:44 BST, 15 August 2026 | Updated: 17:49 BST, 15 August 2026.

Europa League exit

The Ibrox side crashed out of the Europa League qualifiers on Thursday night after losing 3‑2 on aggregate to Jagiellonia Bialystok of Poland.

Rangers have also failed to win either of their two opening league matches and already trail Celtic by five points in the title race.

McInnes has yet to taste victory across his four matches in charge, and a section of the support turned against the manager and his players on Thursday night.

Rangers, who completed the loan signing of left‑back James Penrice on Saturday, will welcome St Mirren to Ibrox this afternoon in a League Cup clash which is must‑win for the under‑fire manager.

League Cup showdown

McInnes admitted that he didn’t blame supporters for venting their anger after the Europa League exit but is confident his team will come good with a few more quality additions.

‘I think they [the fans] need to see something to get behind,’ he said. ‘And they need to see action. They need to see a team who are better than what they were on Thursday night.’

St Mirren have started the season in good form, winning five of six matches in all competitions, as well as both of their league matches so far.

‘I’ve watched St Mirren in the last couple of games,’ McInnes said. ‘They stayed up by the skin of their teeth last season and have had two strong performances so far. We’ll need to rise to the challenge on Sunday.’