Rangers face the ignominy of not playing European football this season after a bruising defeat in their UEFA Conference League Play-off.
New Gers’ manager Derek McInnes, already under pressure after a mightily below-par start to his reign in the blue side of Glasgow, saw his troops surrender a 1-0 first leg lead against Jablonec before crashing out on penalties.
In the spot-kicks, Rangers actually led only for Findlay Curtis and James Penrice to botch their penalties and send the Czech hosts through to the competition proper. The defeat means Rangers have missed out on the chance to qualify for both the Conference League and Europa League, having been beaten 3-2 on aggregate by Polish side Jagiellonia Białystok earlier this month in the qualifying stages of the latter.
This latest defeat brings huge questions over the future of McInnes, 55, who was only appointed at Ibrox two months ago. Since then his record makes for grim reading with just two victories from seven games across all competitions.
McInnes cut a disconsolate figure, understandably, post-match in the Czech Republic.
“I’m embarrassed with the performance,” he said. “The only people who represented the club well tonight were my staff and the supporters who were outstanding, getting behind the team despite watching what we all watched.
“I’m not going to make any excuses. Yes there’s been a big turnover of players, yes we looked inexperienced at times but the responsibility is mine to make sure we’re better than what we served up tonight. We’re elite in everything we do in terms of preparation and the performance lacked in everything.”
The sobering defeat will be a big hit to the coffers of the club, and it is the first time in nine years that the Gers will not be competing in any European competition after their infamous exit to Luxembourg minnows Progres Niederkorn in the Europa League first qualifying round back in 2017.
The backlash after this latest embarrassment is set to be just as furious from the Rangers fanbase and it could rise even further if they suffer another poor result this weekend when they finally return to Scottish Premiership action after a three-week hiatus.
McInnes takes the team to Aberdeen – his former employers – on Sunday lunchtime. After a chastening start to life in the hotseat, he can ill afford another loss there.
