Derek McInnes is not ready to throw in the towel on Rangers this season, despite the Ibrox club sitting in the middle of a worrying winless run that has supporters growing increasingly restless.
The Rangers boss, who took over from Danny Rohl earlier this season, has been under pressure as results have failed to go the way the club and its fanbase would have hoped. But McInnes is standing firm, insisting the season is far from over and that there are still positives to take from what has been a difficult spell.
Speaking ahead of the weekend, McInnes pointed to small but significant moments within recent performances as reasons for belief. He is clinging to what he calls the “wee moments” that suggest his side are capable of turning things around, even if the results have not been coming.
“The season is not a write off,” McInnes said defiantly. “We know where we are and we know the work that needs to be done, but I genuinely believe in this group of players.”
It has not been the start anyone connected with Rangers would have wanted. The Glasgow giants have struggled for consistency and confidence, and the pressure that comes with managing one of Scotland’s biggest clubs is never far away. Every dropped point feels magnified at Ibrox, and McInnes knows that better than most having managed in Scottish football for a long time.
His appointment was seen as a steadying influence after the club decided to move on from Rohl, but the early signs have not been convincing enough to silence the doubters. Rangers fans are a demanding bunch, and patience is not always in great supply when the team is not winning games.
Still, McInnes is not the type to hide from the situation. He has been open about the challenges his side face and has not tried to dress up the results as anything other than disappointing. What he is asking for is time and trust, two things that can be in short supply at a club with Rangers’ expectations.
The manager has been working hard on the training ground to get his ideas across to the players, and he believes the performances have shown enough to suggest the corner is not too far away. It might sound like the kind of thing managers always say when results are not going their way, but those who know McInnes say he is a straight talker who does not deal in empty words.
Rangers will need to start picking up points soon if they want to stay in the hunt for any silverware this season. Scottish football moves quickly, and the gap between the top sides can grow fast if a team hits a bad patch at the wrong time.
Celtic have been setting the pace at the top of the Premiership, and Rangers cannot afford to let the title race slip away from them before it has even properly got going. The pressure to perform is real, and McInnes knows the next few weeks are going to be crucial in defining how the rest of the campaign shapes up.
For now though, the manager is keeping his focus on what he can control, working with his players and trying to build something that will eventually produce the results the club needs. He is not panicking, and he is not walking away from the challenge.
Whether the Rangers board will show the same patience remains to be seen, but for the moment McInnes is the man in the dugout and he is determined to prove that this season still has plenty left to offer.