Derek McInnes Celtic verdict as Rangers boss hails 'exactly' what was required at Ibrox

Derek McInnes believes his Rangers side’s 3-0 demolition of Celtic can become a defining reference point for his young squad after admitting his players delivered exactly the performance required to overcome their biggest rivals.

Skipper Dan Neil's double and Kevin Kelsy's goal secured a statement victory at Ibrox, sending Rangers into the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals and giving McInnes his first win over Celtic as Rangers boss.

The Rangers manager was delighted with the performance but immediately warned his players that the victory could only be the beginning.

McInnes believes the display showed the strength of the club both on and off the pitch, while also providing his players with an important reminder of what they can produce when everything comes together.

“Yeah, delighted obviously to get the club into a semi-final. I felt the performance that we gave today was the performance that was required to overcome a team like Celtic. Delighted with the performance for so many today,” the former Gers midfielder said.

“I don't think we had a failure and that's what it takes to win. It's a good reference for us going forward and, that said, obviously we've got to take the good through the game and the feel-good factor and obviously look forward to the semi-final when it comes round but equally we've got to get ready for the next one.

“I think it's delighted for the players. I thought, as I say, the game demanded our full attention today. It demanded a big performance, and I'm delighted that we've managed to deliver that.”

The result represents a remarkable turnaround from Rangers' European defeat to Jablonec just weeks ago which ended their continental campaign in August.

McInnes admitted his side had not looked ready for that occasion, accepting that responsibility ultimately fell on his shoulders.

McInnes admits Rangers 'didn't look ready' in Jablonec

The Rangers boss did not shy away from the difficult night in Czechia when asked to compare that performance with the one his team produced against Celtic.

“I do feel when I look back, obviously it's the one defeat we've had in our last eight games and the performance that night was in complete contrast to today because it was a big game for us as a club and to deliver such a lacklustre performance, a performance I wouldn't want to put my name on and I had to deal with it and I know the consequence of that,” he reflected.

“But you'd have to say and be totally honest here, we didn't look ready. We never looked ready even though we were getting a couple of wins here and there.

“We didn't look ready as a club to deliver that and we should have been. So, there's a shared responsibility on that. Obviously, the majority of the responsibility lands on me but the performance today was exactly what was required.

“I'm pleased that we've come, since that game you mentioned, we've come quite a long way but I think you also see the magic ingredient, a bit of confidence into the players just winning games.

“Even when we were winning games it was like, but they're not doing that and it's not enough and they're still critiquing and that's just the way it is here.

“Listen, I know the criticism will come again if we don't win next Sunday and I just feel as though for this team, a young team, a young squad, it's important that we take the good from the game, use it as a reference and try and just work to get better performances on a more consistent basis.

“But we look as if we're up and running now and hopefully we can get improvements.”

I need us to care for each other

One of the most significant aspects of the victory for McInnes was the togetherness shown by his players.

The Rangers boss pointed to an incident in the second half when the squad rallied around a teammate as evidence that his dressing room is beginning to become the kind of environment he wants.

“I think the dressing room is exactly how I need my dressing room to be. I need us to care for each other, I need us to love each other, I need us to be there for each other,” he explained.

“I've said recently in the last two or three weeks it started to feel like a dressing room that I identify with.

“It can be tough working for Rangers if the results don't come and even we were winning there's still criticism, so you have to try and accentuate the positives, you've got to try and work closely.

“I do understand that having a younger team as well there's a lot of learnings for them and a lot of kind of maturity still to come for them both on and off the pitch.

“But you know, I think we've done a lot of good work since getting into the Aberdeen game a couple of weeks ago and you know if we'd said then, if we knew then we were now, we'd have been delighted with the response really.”

Dan Neil earns McInnes praise

Stand in captain Neil was the obvious headline-maker after scoring twice, wearing the armband in injured skipper Lawrence Shankland’s absence, but McInnes was keen to stress that his performance went beyond the goals.

The midfielder repeatedly found space around the edge of Celtic's penalty area and produced two outstanding finishes.

“Obviously Dan's going to get highlighted for his goals and his two goals are brilliant, different types of finishes, but that space at the edge of the box, we knew we could occupy that space at times if we attacked properly and we looked after the ball and if we forced Celtic back then that space might develop,” he said.

“We still need people to step up and show the quality and Dan did exactly that.

“He gets the light shine on him a wee bit today because of the goals but I thought his performance was really strong as well, as was Nico and me, James, in there.

“I thought the three were terrific and it played a big part in us getting some sort of ascendancy in the game.”

Penrice gamble pays off

McInnes also explained the thinking behind his decision to deploy natural left back James Penrice in midfield to shadow Celtic’s Benjamin Nygren.

The Rangers boss wanted his two strikers closer together and accepted that doing so required a tactical trade-off elsewhere.

“Obviously you get an idea of how you want the game to play. I think for us to tap into having 50,000 here I thought we had to set up in a way where we try and get two strikers close together,” he revealed.

“When you put two strikers close together there's got to be a trade-off somewhere else. If you want your plus one all the time somewhere then you're going to have to try and find ways.

“I knew wee James could do it. I spoke to him at length over the last couple of days and I know he's just a good fit player; you can see that, you can see how much he wants to do well here.

“But it's alright me having an idea in my head and me thinking how we want to do things but you still need your players to deliver a big performance and that's what the players delivered, big performances throughout.”

'The bigger the game, the bigger the performance'

One of the biggest individual compliments from McInnes was reserved for his young defender Olwethu Makhanya, who produced an outstanding Old Firm debut.

The Rangers boss was particularly impressed by the 22-year-old’s composure despite being asked to operate in different defensive positions with Penrice more advanced.

“He's been sensational, he really has and it is tough to single anybody out but the bigger the game, the bigger the performance,” McInnes exclaimed.

“I think you're always learning about your players but you're absolutely right, he was absolutely first class and we ask a lot of him.

“We started him left of three and he ends up with right-back and wherever I play him for somebody so young, for somebody who's just come into the country and into the club, there's a trust I need to be able to trust my players.

“I feel as though I can trust him and I think he's been almost faultless really since he came in the building.”

Rangers must be ready for Celtic response

Despite the scale of the victory, McInnes knows the job is far from finished.

Rangers face Celtic again next weekend at Celtic Park in the Scottish Premiership, and the manager expects Martin O’Neill’s side to respond.

“I think you get a lot of good through winning a Derby game, both because we need to get the buy-in for the fans and we need the players to think what we're doing is right as well,” he said.

“I think they take the good from it, the confidence, but it can quickly change. We need to keep our shoulder to the wheel.

“We've got a preparation to get ready for that one with Celtic again next week and you know they're not going to just let us get away with that. They'll come back again next week and we've got to be ready for that response.”

For McInnes, however, the significance of the afternoon goes beyond simply beating Celtic. He wants his players and supporters to believe that this is the level Rangers can consistently reach.

“I think in the main, beating a team like Celtic and with such a big performance, you can only take the good from it as I said,” the manager told the media.

“It's a reference point for all of us now to try and work towards.

“I trust what we do, I trust how we work but obviously I've not enjoyed the first few weeks.

“Even as I say we won a couple of games I still felt we were short, still felt that we had the kind of anxiety about the transfer market, the transfer window, who was going to be, who was not, a lot of to-ing and fro-ing.

“I still felt that with the right encouragement, with the right way of working and how we work Monday to Friday, we can get a team on the pitch that can win games.

“I know if we could win one, winning the second one would be a bit easier, winning the third one would become a bit easier and it starts to become a habit.

“I just want a Rangers team on the pitch that the fans trust and we're still a bit away from that yet.”

After a 3-0 Old Firm victory, though, McInnes and his players have taken a major step towards giving them a reason to do exactly that.