Rangers' 48,000‑fan draw forces McInnes to push for reinforcements

Forty‑eight thousand spectators watched Rangers' goalless draw with West Ham United on Sunday at Ibrox, and manager Derek McInnes said the performance highlighted clear areas that still need strengthening, noting that the club has already added seven new players in his first transfer window since arriving from Hearts.

The Ibrox club, having already added seven new players in McInnes' first transfer window since arriving from Hearts, now faces a short window to address those gaps before the Scottish Premiership opener. The additions were intended to bolster the squad ahead of the upcoming campaign.

McInnes said, "it's clear certain areas we need strengthened still" after the friendly, underscoring his belief that the squad is not yet ready for competitive matches. He said the friendly underscored that the squad is not yet ready for competitive matches.

He added that the lack of a goal or a victory disappointed both him and the 48,000 fans in attendance. He noted that the fans' expectations were not met without a goal.

McInnes' assessment was that there has been good work done by the club and there are still a good few weeks of the window left to try and address that. He emphasized that the club still has a few weeks left in the transfer window to make further signings.

He confirmed that Rangers are still actively trying to bring in reinforcements, hoping to resolve the identified deficiencies as soon as possible. He said the evaluation of targets will continue throughout the remaining weeks.

Two World Cup midfielders – Norway's Thelo Aasgaard and Australia's Cammy Devlin – picked up knocks against West Ham, but McInnes does not expect either to miss Friday's Scottish Premiership opener against Dundee United, saying Aasgaard landed awkwardly on his shoulder and Devlin took a kick to his calf.

McInnes was disappointed that his side were not able to give the 48,000 fans a goal or a victory but thought it was a step on from the midweek draw with St Etienne, noting the team showed concentration and managed a clean sheet with few scares.

He said the opposition required concentration and, on that side of it, getting the clean sheet and not too many scares meant the performance was quite alright. He concluded by saying it was just disappointing not to make more of good positions, citing a missed final cross and turning down chances to shoot, and expressed a desire to put the opposition under more pressure in future matches.