Derek McInnes has apologised to the Rangers support after admitting he was “embarrassed” by his side’s performance in their European exit to Jablonec.
Rangers were knocked out of the Conference League on penalties after failing to produce the display required to progress, bringing a hugely disappointing end to their European campaign.
For McInnes, the biggest source of frustration was not the penalty shootout itself but the performance which preceded it as the Gers surrendered their first-leg advantage over the Czechs.
The Rangers boss accepted that supporters who had travelled to back the team deserved significantly better and made clear that there would be no attempt to hide behind the shootout or the circumstances of the evening.
“It's such a low point, I'm embarrassed with the result. I'm gutted for the supporters, because they've come here. We come over on a charter flight, we stay in a nice hotel, we get all the preparation, and they come here whatever way they can, and they'll still make their way to Aberdeen,” he said.
“They don't always need to see their team perform brilliantly, but they do deserve to see their team perform way better than that. It's not good enough.”
McInnes said he understood why the Rangers support would be angry after watching their team fail to match Jablonec's intensity.
He pointed towards the performances of other Scottish clubs in Europe as an example of the desire and togetherness he wanted his own side to show.
“No doubt they're angry at that tonight. Why would they not? There's no way I'm able to say that. I'm embarrassed that they've served that up,” he explained.
“I think we've watched the last couple of nights of European football. You've seen the aftermath of Celtic going out and the shock of that, and the outpouring of anger towards that.
“But then you look at Hearts last night, a team playing with real desire and togetherness and digging out a result when the chips were against it. I wanted us to be that team tonight and just stick together and make sure we just won the tie.”
McInnes says sorry to Ibrox fans
The apology came after what McInnes described as a performance well below the standards expected at Rangers.
He praised the travelling support for their backing despite what they were watching on the pitch, but felt the players failed to repay that faith.
“First, I'm embarrassed by the performance. I think the only people who represented the club well tonight were my staff, the support staff and the preparation. We do so much right here to get the players ready and in peak condition to go and perform,” he revealed.
“The supporters were outstanding, getting behind the team. Despite what we all watched, it wasn't a good performance at any stretch of the imagination.”
“It shouldn't have come down to two boys, James Penrice and Finlay Curtis in tears for missing a penalty kick. It shouldn't have come down to that. Nobody's sitting here making any excuses whatsoever.
“It wasn't good enough. Yes, there's been a big turnover of players. Yes, we look very inexperienced at times. The responsibility is mine to make sure that we are better than what we served up tonight. We were a mile short.
“The performance lacked in everything really in terms of winning duels, winning second balls, looking after the ball, keeping things simple.
“But when the press wasn't good enough, when the press was good and we go man for man, we're not strong enough in the challenges, we're not strong enough to win second balls, we don't win tackles.
“I thought the opposition were better than us in most aspects of the game, so we got what we deserved.”
McInnes admitted Rangers are still searching for a clear identity following the significant turnover in personnel, with today’s acquisition of Kim Min-Su bringing the new faces count up to 13 with Kevin Kelsy set to become arrival number 14 once a VISA is sorted.
He made numerous tactical changes during the game in an attempt to gain control, but acknowledged that the problem went beyond formation.
“I look at us now and I'm thinking, well, we're no great as a possession-based team at the minute, we don't look so confident in our work. We're not a counter-attack team enough, or effectively enough at times. We don't look like a team who are happy when we go direct,” he said.
McInnes takes the blame
He also accepted that the responsibility ultimately rests with him to find the answers.
“It's my job to try and find the answers in the pitch, because what was happening wasn't working, and I was more than a bit disappointed with what was going on,” he acknowledged.
“I can accept us not being on point and playing well all the time, but I can't accept, and we shouldn't accept it, losing individual battles, losing duels and second balls and not winning enough tackles and just getting the momentum of the game going our way.
“I thought we looked young tonight, I thought we looked inexperienced at times, and I thought we severely lacked in quality. Now, we're obviously trying to make some signs to help with that side of it, but we need to be doing so much more as a team to perform better than we did tonight.”
Nicolas Raskin speculation
The Rangers boss also addressed Nico Raskin's situation after the Belgian was linked with a potential departure.
McInnes confirmed there had been conversations surrounding the midfielder, rumoured to be with Aston Villa, but no formal offer and insisted Raskin's potential absence was not responsible for the defeat.
“There's been no offers for Nico, there's just been quite a few conversations, so I don't know where that was. Certainly not today ahead of the game, I hadn't heard anything, so I don't know where that's at,” he said.
“I think any team would miss somebody like Nico, but I need to say that's not the reason why we've lost tonight. We should still have enough in the building, as I said. I think I'll take responsibility for the result, but the responsibility is shared.”
Aberdeen on Sunday
McInnes now has the task of ensuring Rangers respond quickly, but his immediate message after the European disappointment was directed towards the supporters.
They travelled expecting to see their team progress, only to witness a performance their own manager described as unacceptable.
And McInnes made no attempt to dilute that assessment.
“The players have got to be better than that. We know that. It's my job to help the players, but they've got to help themselves as well.”
For a Rangers manager facing his first major European disappointment at the club, the apology to the support was as emphatic as his assessment of the performance.
Rangers must recover fast with a crucial away Premiership fixture at Pittodrie looming on Sunday with supporters already beginning to call for a change in the dugout before the end of August.
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