Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports , former Rangers defender Alan Hutton has assessed the difficult start to the season under new boss Derek McInnes at Ibrox .
Hutton , who made more than 120 appearances for the club, has explained why the pressure to perform at Rangers could create problems, why the years of a managerial merry-go-round have caught up with them, and why comparing McInnes to Jurgen Klopp was unhelpful.
The former Scotland international has also assessed the Couhaib Driouech collapse, their Europa Conference League hopes, the struggles of Lawrence Shankland , the injury blow to Youssef Chermiti , and the cases of James Tavernier and Robbie Ure .
Transfer Frustrations
How Big a Blow Is the Driouech Deal Falling Apart?
The Couhaib Driouech news is devastating for everybody at the club and the fans because he is a talented player and he's someone that Rangers were desperate to bring into the team. Daisuke Yokota has come in to play down the right, so to have another winger, another option, to play down the left is something that Rangers still need. They need more creativity in the final third.
To see the deal for Driouech fall through is a real shame, but if there was a problem with an injury, then you can understand why it's fallen through. They'd have been investing a lot of money in the player. You'd just have to hope a club as big as Rangers have already got a backup plan and someone else lined up that they'll move on to because they need a player who fits that profile, and they need them now, ASAP! Not in two weeks' time or three weeks' time. They need them in right now.
How Far Can Rangers Go in the Europa Conference League?
With everything that happened against Jagiellonia Bialystok , they'll drop down now to the Europa Conference League , and surely they can make it into that competition, and they'll have an eye on winning that. It's a competition with a lot of unknowns and a lot of teams that people won't have heard too much about, but Rangers have gone far in European competitions before.
Not too long ago they made it to the final of the Europa League , so they'll be looking to do well in the Europa Conference League , but it's a devastating blow that they've not been able to make it through into the Europa League .
Derek McInnes
Is McInnes Coping With His Slow Start?
I think Derek McInnes will be able to cope. There's no doubt in my mind about that. He's played for the club. He knows the expectations that are on him. He knows what the fans expect. He knows he has to win every single week. None of this will have come as a surprise to him. The only problem he's got is time. You don't get time at Rangers ; it doesn't matter who you are. Even if you're not playing well, you have to win. You have to pick up results, and with everything that's gone on, there's already been talk about where Rangers go from here, but they've only won one league title in 15 years.
The managerial merry-go-round, the player trading model, it's not been working for years, and this season is an accumulation of things for Rangers ; it's not just a poor start. We've seen these problems in the background for years and years, and that's why the fans can turn so quickly, and I can understand the frustration; I just still believe McInnes can get it right.
Was Comparing McInnes to Klopp Wise?
Rangers CEO Jim Gillespie calling Derek McInnes a Jurgen Klopp -style manager? I was thinking at the time, he just doesn't need to say it. You just don't need to put any more pressure on him. The job's big enough as it is. To compare him to one of the best managers who've worked in the game, it's just not ideal.
I understand what he was trying to do. He was trying to back his manager. He's trying to make it clear to everyone that he believes Derek McInnes is a top-level manager, and he wants the fans to understand he knows what it's all about; he's going to be here for a number of years, and they must trust the process.
The Forwards
How Long Until Shankland Gets Firing?
Listen, Lawrence Shankland has been through a huge change in his life. He's moved to the team he's supported since he was a boy. He's become captain. There's a lot of pressure on his shoulders to perform, but I think the fans have been crying out for him to come to Ibrox for the last two seasons. Now that he's finally there, they expect goals, and when I watch him recently, I feel like he's trying everything to score a goal, whereas when he was at Hearts , everything was coming naturally to him. He laid it off, bang, goal! Take a touch, finish, goal!
Right now for Rangers he's trying too hard, so once it settles down for him and he grows into the role, I think we'll see the best of him, and I've no fear about Shankland . He'll score 15-plus goals this year, no problem. He'll be in the running for the Golden Boot , there's no doubt about it.
How Big a Blow Is Chermiti's Injury?
It's a huge blow. Everybody fell off their seats when Rangers originally signed him for £10 million plus. They thought Rangers had made a mess of it, but he's only young. He grew into the role, and he started to become a fan favourite at Ibrox , so fair play to him. They did knock back a huge offer for him, seemingly for £25 million, but that's because Rangers want him to stay. That's their stance. He's set to be a big part of the team moving forward. If that's the case, then fine. Players get injured at any time. It could have happened in training. It could be during a game. It was just one of those injuries where it wasn't down to a bad tackle or anything like that; it was just unfortunate, and I'm gutted for him. He can come back from this stronger. It's just one of those things.
Can Chermiti Come Back and Be a Big Player Again?
I always believe if you're going to have an injury like this, sometimes it can be better happening earlier in your career, when you're younger. Your body heals better, and you're quicker to recover, and you've got more time in your career to make up for it. I think Rangers will really look after Youssef Chermiti . He's a huge asset for the club, but you're better writing off this season now for him as it's a serious one and looking at how you can get him back fit for the start of next season.
Experience Debate
Should Rangers Re-sign James Tavernier?
Sometimes you don't realise what you had until they're away, and I always talk about having experienced players around the club, and I don't think there would have been anything wrong with having James Tavernier available for another season going through this transitional period. Dujon Sterling is first choice in the team, but I'm not sure he can play two games in a week, and that's an issue. There's still question marks over Ross McCrorie for me. Is he really good enough to push Sterling and be the regular right-back? So you'd probably have Tavernier in the squad at this moment in time.
I'm surprised nobody else has picked him up yet. Just look at his record. I know he's 34 and that might put a lot of teams off, but he was a very robust player at Rangers and very rarely injured, and that's a tick in the box for any player.
Will Rangers Regret Letting Robbie Ure Go?
I think you've got to applaud him for taking that step at such a young age to say I'm not going to sit around at Rangers and play second, third, fourth or fifth fiddle. Rangers are always going to buy strikers, but he decided he's good enough, he's going to step away and believe in his own ability, and he's proven that to everyone else now. I mean £7.5 million to Sevilla is a great move for him, and if he can go there and play the level he is capable of, scoring the sort of goals he scored in Sweden , he'll be a big hit out there too.
Everybody will be talking about him playing in a Scotland shirt, and we'll want to see him doing well for the national team too, so I'm really happy to see him making that move and just how much he believes in himself. We've got Scott McTominay in Italy . Why not Robbie Ure out in Spain ?
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