Rangers Find Foothold After Troubling Start

Rangers finally found a foothold on Sunday – but it comes after a wretched start that has already frayed tempers around the club.

The opening weeks have been a mess. Recruitment has dragged, the European campaign was a humiliation, and Derek McInnes has looked like a manager rifling through ideas rather than refining a plan, chopping and changing line-ups, shapes and substitutions in search of something that works.

Against Aberdeen, something finally did.

A glimpse of what Rangers should be

This was the version of Rangers many expected to see from McInnes on day one: solid, structured, and just streetwise enough to get over the line. It wasn’t spectacular, but it was stable. Right now, that matters more than flair.

The performance had a platform feel to it – the kind of win that can steady a dressing room and quieten the noise, if it’s followed up properly. The danger, of course, is that it ends up as a one-off rather than a turning point.

In attack, only two players truly stood out.

Kim Min-Su played like he wanted to run the show. He kept demanding the ball, trying to be the fulcrum of the side, the player everything flowed through. Djeidi Gassama brought the spark around him – busy, bright, always looking to make something happen. Between them, they offered a glimpse of what this team could look like with a bit more cohesion and a lot more help.

No controversy in the big calls

Referee Matthew MacDermid found himself under the usual online scrutiny, but on the key moments he got it right.

Kevin Nisbet’s disallowed goal has already been dragged into the familiar storm of contrived outrage, yet the decision was clear. There were two separate infringements in the move – a shove on Dujon Sterling and an offside. Either one was enough to chalk it off. Together, they left no room for debate.

The calls went by the book. The noise around them says more about the climate than the officiating.

Window ticking, squad still short

For all the relief of a composed win, nobody inside Ibrox can pretend this squad is close to where it needs to be.

Falkirk away on Wednesday now becomes a test of whether this was a genuine step forward or just a brief pause in a stuttering start. The performance has to be built on, not admired in isolation.

Off the pitch, the to-do list is blunt and unforgiving. Rangers have been heavily linked with a striker and still require another right winger. On top of that, two midfielders are needed to drag this group anywhere near the required standard.

There is plenty of work left, and not much time to do it.