Video: Derek McInnes Managerial Highlights
Controversy aside, it’s hardly a surprise Rangers have their sights firmly locked on Derek McInnes.
In ten years the 46-year old has only managed three clubs and in both Scottish tenures he managed to turn their fortunes around.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdJoining St Johnstone in 2007, McInnes did what Owen Coyle and Sandy Stewart could not - return the Perth club to the Premier League after seven years of treading water in the First Division.
It’s unfortunate McInnes was unable to replicate the Saints’ success at Bristol City, but his arrival at Pittodrie was to reinvigorate Aberdeen’s passion for the game.
With a League Cup Victory under his belt, he is both the first manager to take an Aberdeen side to a final in 14 years and the first manager to win silverware in 19 years.
After several top three finishes in the SPFL, The Europa League is always going to present a challenge, but it had been a while since Aberdeen fans have even considered qualifiers a possibility, let alone a probability.
What worked for McInnes at McDiarmid Park and Pittodrie might not rub off at Ibrox, but a one-way-ticket from Aberdeen to Glasgow could be all it takes to return the SPFL to a two horse race.