Derek McInnes maintains that Rangers "aren't as bad as people think" even though his tenure at Ibrox has yet to produce a victory. The Scottish Premiership side suffered a disappointing 2-1 home loss to Hibernian in McInnes's first match in charge, a game that was further marred when promising striker Youssef Chermiti was forced to leave the pitch on a stretcher after sustaining a knee injury.

At the moment Celtic and St Mirren sit on six points after two league fixtures each, while Rangers trail by five points and are already in pursuit mode. The new manager is eager to secure his inaugural win after three games in the hot seat at Ibrox. "We're not as bad as some people will be saying at the minute," McInnes told Sky Sports. "And I think it's important that we just batten down the hatches, stay strong, stay together.

We try, as a club, to come out of this window strong and we will. At the minute, we're trying to manage the situation. Some players are not quite as fit but we need to get them playing to get them fit." He added that Chermiti's injury was "far from ideal" but stressed the need to forge a cohesive unit that can develop rhythm and a connection capable of delivering wins. "We're not at the start we wanted but we still plan to get the finish and the outcome that we want and we'll work towards that," McInnes said.

Hibs opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Josh Campbell converted a penalty after VAR intervened on a challenge involving Vanja Dragojevic, who was making his first start for Rangers after arriving from Partizan Belgrade. McInnes felt the decision was incorrect and that it contributed to the early deficit.

"I think it was a wrong decision that made us go behind in the first place," he remarked. He acknowledged that the first half contained moments of quality but also described it as "slow and pedestrian at times." The Rangers boss praised Hibernian's shape, noting that it forced his side to fight hard for space.

Despite the setback, McInnes believed his team displayed several positive spells. "I still thought we had some good moments. Obviously, there's a blow to Youssef going off which is far from ideal, particularly for him and us and there's a little adjustment there," he explained. Regarding the penalty, McInnes expressed surprise, saying, "I do think the penalty came out of the blue really.

I hadn't seen it at the time and I've seen it since and I don't think it's a penalty kick. I don't think the referee should be brought over." He emphasized that Rangers had the chance to recover, stating, "We've put ourselves in a position to try and dig ourselves out of it." In the latter stages of the match, McInnes felt his side were the more likely to score and praised the impact of the substitutes.

"In the last part of the game, the last 25 minutes or so, I thought the subs helped. We were by far the dominant team. I thought we were the better team and sometimes, in fact, we don't always get what we deserve but nobody will tell me any differently." He concluded that Rangers were the superior side, even if the result did not reflect that. "We were the better team.

We weren't great but we were better than Hibs and I think it was harsh on my players to be on the losing side. But we keep going. I was delighted with the effort of the players, delighted with how they kept going to try and get a win. That's how we want to play and I didn't see that second goal coming," McInnes said.

Both goals, he argued, were harsh on Rangers. "The penalty, slight deflection, it takes it past Ivor for their winning goal and sometimes it's like that and you just need to dig deep and go again. A tough way to lose it." The match also featured another blow before halftime when Chermiti, who had recently been the subject of a reported £22 million bid from Galatasaray—a club‑record offer for a Rangers player—was forced off after picking up a knee injury. The bid, which Rangers rejected, highlighted the striker's value to the club.

Ibrox officials reportedly wish to retain the 22‑year‑old this summer and consider him more valuable than the £19.6 million fee received for Calvin Bassey when he moved to Ajax in 2023. Chermiti, who arrived in Glasgow last summer on a deal that could rise to £10 million, contributed 15 goals and five assists across all competitions in the previous campaign. McInnes commented on the situation: "I think the fact that the club rejected such a big number would suggest how important he is to us, so we're delighted from that side of it.

He'll get a scan tomorrow. He'll leave here today in a boot and a brace.

It's a knee injury of some sort but I think it would be silly to speculate anything until we get the scan results tomorrow. Hopefully he's been lucky because we could certainly do a bit of that. Obviously he's a big part for us going forward and hopefully we get a positive scan." Looking ahead, McInnes stressed the importance of patience and unity as the squad works through fitness concerns and integrates new signings. He emphasized that the early season challenges are part of a longer journey and that the club's ambition remains to finish strongly and compete for titles.

"We need to stay focused, keep working hard in training, and trust the process," he added. "If we stick to our principles and keep improving each week, the results will follow." The broader context of the Scottish Premiership sees Celtic and St Mirren leading the table, while Rangers aim to close the gap.

Fans will be watching closely to see how McInnes navigates the early adversity, manages player fitness, and extracts the best from his squad as the season progresses. For live updates, refer to the Scottish Premiership table, fixtures, and the Sky Sports app.