The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Can Rangers afford to bring in Derek McInnes? Rab Douglas has his say
It may not have been the prediction of the century, but my suggestion in last week’s column that Pedro Caixinha’s days at Rangers were numbered came true. Before I pat myself too hard on the back, it did look like a certainty that he would be leaving.
It was just a matter of time and now the Ibrox board have to get the right man in.
Looking back over Caixinha’s time in charge as a whole, I think it was probably the failure in Europe against Luxembourg minnows Progres Niederkorn that was the low point.
They were taking one step forward and three steps back under him and they just had to let him go.
Of course, Derek McInnes up at Aberdeen is the sensible option to take over from Caixinha.
However, I would ask this question of the Rangers board: can they afford him?
It is one thing McInnes wanting to move and another getting the whole package worked out and finance put in place for the successful candidate to work with.
For surely the first thing the new Rangers boss will want to do is get rid of half the players in that squad.
Will he be allowed to do that considering the costs involved? I’m not so sure.
On the other side of Glasgow, meanwhile, Celtic continued to make progress by playing very well against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
I believe they are getting closer to the “big” clubs despite the result going against them.
The big disappointment was the loss of the first Bayern goal.
I notice goalkeeper Craig Gordon is getting blamed by a few people but I saw it as a joint effort from him and defender Dedryck Boyata.
Gordon should have stayed in his goal and Boyata should have dealt with the ball in.
The positives for Celtic were many, though, and I loved the way James Forrest performed, attacking them at every opportunity and getting dangerous crosses into the Munich box.
His pass to Calum McGregor for the Celtic goal was a cracker.
I hope Forrest has a big part to play for Scotland next week in the friendly against Holland in Aberdeen and I also believe the time has come for McGregor and another of the country’s form players, John McGinn of Hibs, to show what they can do against the Dutch. Mind you, as long as (interim Scots manager) Malky Mackay plays Kieran Tierney in his proper left-back role then I’ll be happy.
Meanwhile, McGinn will no doubt be at the heart of things at Easter Road on Saturday when Dundee head there looking to end their losing streak.
On paper, the Hibees look absolute bankers to win that one because they are flying and won a tricky-looking game at Kilmarnock the other night.
Sometimes you get a break when you least expect it, so fingers crossed Dundee can take something out of the match.
Derek McInnes up at Aberdeen is the sensible option to take over