Rangers face squad crunch after draw ahead of Europa League tie
Derek McInnes began his Rangers tenure with a 1-1 draw at Dundee United, exposing a thin squad requiring urgent reinforcement before Thursday's crucial Europa League qualifier.
Rangers opened the Derek McInnes era with a 1-1 draw at Dundee United, a result that highlighted the extensive rebuild required before the club faces Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok in Europa League qualifying on Thursday.
Falling behind to Lachlan Rose's first-half strike, Rangers improved after the interval and levelled through Thelo Aasgaard. They were fortunate to escape with a point after Dundee United's Jesse Randall missed a late chance against debutant goalkeeper Ivor Pandur.
For a club of Rangers' scale, the immediate priority is European qualification, which dictates future broadcast revenue and attracts commercial sponsors. However, the transition under the new manager has left the squad vulnerable at a critical juncture.
Ben Godfrey, making his first appearance following a summer move, departed with a hamstring injury. Furthermore, there is uncertainty over whether new signing Olwethu Makhanya will secure a visa in time to travel to Poland.
The match also exposed a lack of depth in wide positions, a deficit McInnes is actively trying to address in the transfer market. Djeidi Gassama was substituted at half-time, leaving the team to finish with narrow players like Mohamed Diomande and Aasgaard.
"We still would like a winger to go get at people, make a difference and get people on the back foot," McInnes told Sky Sports. "Our strikers are all dependant on service. We're working hard and we know what we want."
Alongside Pandur and Godfrey, Cammy Devlin, Lawrence Shankland, Dan Neil and Ross McCrorie all featured as McInnes blooded his new recruits. Former Rangers player Andy Halliday observed that the integration of these players is far from complete.
"No matter how many defenders you play with, the main fundamental is being compact, and I thought Rangers were the furthest thing from compact," Halliday said on Sportsound. "Rangers are a work in progress, I think they'll still make additions to try and improve, but it certainly wasn't the start they were looking for."
McInnes dismissed suggestions of early pressure, insisting the squad's flaws are correctable. "It's one game. I'm not really interested in what's happened previously, but from my point of view, we are going to get better as we go along," he said.
Pundit Steven Thompson echoed the need for patience as the transfer window remains open. "There will be time to judge once he gets the players he wants and once he gets more work done on the training ground," Thompson said on BBC Radio Scotland.
