Rangers' Europa woes deepen as McInnes faces early crisis

Rangers have been eliminated from the Europa League after a 1-1 draw and a 3-2 aggregate loss to Jagiellonia Bialystok, extending Derek McInnes' historically poor start to four games and leaving the club under intense pressure.

Worst start in Rangers history

Barring caretakers, McInnes has already recorded the worst start of any Rangers manager after three games, a record now stretched to four. The situation mirrors last season’s stumble under Russell Martin, whose tenure ended in early October.

The SNSImage caption noted that Derek McInnes hoped to repeat his success with Hearts last season, a promise that now appears unfulfilled at Ibrox.

Europa League exit and squad concerns

Many home fans walked away long before the final whistle in Thursday's Europa League third‑qualifying tie against Jagiellonia Bialystok, despite a chance of extra‑time, and the 1-1 draw led to a 3-2 aggregate defeat that drops Rangers into a Conference League play‑off with Jablonec.

McInnes insisted the club, built for the Champions League and Europa League, is not ready, saying, "We need to get more quality, we need to get more confidence into the team." He added that the job he was hired to do has not been delivered.

After conceding control in the second half, McInnes replaced Thelo Aasgaard with full‑back Ross McCrorie and shifted from a three‑back to a four‑back shape, arguing the Norway midfielder was not getting involved enough and the change would help wingers be more involved higher up the pitch.

Former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday told BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound, "The reasoning makes sense, but it didn't work, it's as simple as that," adding that the team lost control without an extra body in midfield.

Thursday's defeat also came after striker Youssef Chermiti was ruled out with a long‑term knee injury, prompting the club to pursue a new striker while eyeing PSV Eindhoven winger Couhaib Driouech as the latest addition. Halliday believes the current squad should still be enough to beat Jagiellonia Bialystok despite the imbalance.