Former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday has stepped forward to protect the club's new manager, Derek McInnes, amid a difficult start to his tenure at Ibrox. Halliday, who spent five seasons playing for the Glasgow side, argued that the blame for the recent poor run does not lie with McInnes but rather with broader structural issues within the organization.
He told Sky Sports News that McInnes is "doing the best that he possibly can with what's at his disposal to try and get results" and that the manager is still in the early stages of shaping a coherent playing formula. Halliday explained that McInnes is actively searching for a system that fits the squad, testing different personnel combinations and experimenting with tactical shapes. "He's trying to find a formula, he's trying to find a solution, he's trying to find players that he trusts," Halliday said. "Whether that's personnel or whether that's shape, he's really scratching the surface." The context for Halliday's defence is a growing sense of pressure on both the manager and the players.
Rangers have now endured a four‑game winless streak, which culminated in a disappointing exit from the Europa League at the hands of Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok. The loss has intensified scrutiny of McInnes' decisions and the club's recruitment strategy.
Halliday highlighted several deficiencies in the current squad that make the manager's job especially challenging. He noted a lack of pace, a shortage of creative spark, and the absence of a player capable of dictating the tempo of a match. "You look at the balance of the squad and there's a real lack of pace, a real lack of creativity, no one that can dictate the tempo of a game," he observed.
These gaps, according to Halliday, are not the result of tactical missteps but stem from the composition of the roster itself. Rangers entered the summer transfer window with an ambitious overhaul, bringing in nine new signings. However, a high‑profile deal for PSV winger Couhaib Driouech, reportedly worth £6.5 million, fell through after the player suffered an injury during his medical examination. The collapse of that deal added to the sense that the club's recruitment department has struggled to deliver the quality upgrades fans expected.
Chairman Andrew Cavenagh attempted to defend the recruitment process during a recent shareholder Q&A, insisting that the squad is stronger than it was a year ago. He argued that the influx of new players should eventually translate into improved performances on the pitch. Yet Halliday remained unconvinced, describing the situation as "a gross level of mismanagement." He pointed out that signing 27 players in a twelve‑month period inevitably leads to a high number of mis‑judgments. "If you've signed 27 players in the space of 12 months, then you've got so many decisions wrong," he said.
Halliday's criticism extends to the specific profile of the signings. He argued that the club has added too many players who occupy similar roles, creating redundancy rather than depth. "Only one left‑back in the door, three centre‑halves, only two wingers, a whole host of central‑midfield players that all kind of fit the same profile," he explained. This lack of variety, he warned, means that the squad lacks the flexibility required to adapt to different opponents and game situations.
According to Halliday, the remedy is not simply to add more names to the roster but to secure players who represent an immediate upgrade over the existing options. "They need an upgrade, and I think it's hard to say they've done that," he concluded. He suggested that without such targeted improvements, Rangers could be looking at a prolonged period of underachievement. The broader implications of Halliday's comments touch on the relationship between the club's hierarchy, its scouting and recruitment staff, and the manager tasked with turning a patchwork of signings into a cohesive unit.
While McInnes has the support of a former player who understands the club's culture, the onus remains on the board to provide a balanced squad that offers both depth and variety. In summary, Halliday's defence of Derek McInnes underscores a belief that the manager is working within the constraints of an imperfect roster. The former midfielder calls for a more strategic approach to player acquisition—one that prioritises quality, positional balance, and the ability to influence games directly. Until such changes are made, the pressure on McInnes and his team is likely to continue, as Rangers fans and stakeholders await a turnaround in results both domestically and in European competition.