Dundee add to Ibrox misery after McInnes confirms he is staying put
DEREK McINNES last night ended speculation over a move to Rangers by insisting he’s happy at Aberdeen. The preferred candidate for the Ibrox manager’s post since the sacking of Pedro Caixinha four weeks ago, the Pittodrie boss has become increasingly irked by questions over his future. And, speaking as Rangers crashed to defeat against Dundee, with Mark O’Hara the double-goal hero for the Dens Park men and Josh Windass netting for the visitors, McInnes backed up comments from
chairman Stewart Milne in an interview this week that he remains fully committed to the club.
Aberdeen meet Rangers home and away next week and the former Ibrox midfielder will contest the double-header as Dons boss after tackling speculation he described as an ‘obsession’.
‘I want to reiterate what the chairman said,’ stated McInnes.
‘I speak to him every other day and relationships are key to me.
‘He wanted to put something out, he spoke to me about it and I was happy for him to do that.
‘I have never been one who feels the need to react to speculation and I don’t see how I can pick and choose.
‘I’m getting asked all the time about this job or that job. A month ago I was asked about the Scotland job and I answered one question about it, so everyone was happy with that.
‘Nobody has really asked me about West Brom.
‘Nobody is asking the Celtic manager if he’s interested in Everton or any other job that has come up every week, but there has been this obsession with the Rangers job.
‘If people want to know about the Rangers job, I would suggest they go down to Glasgow and ask them about it. Don’t be speaking to me or my players about it.’
Irked in recent weeks by press conferences returning to the same topic time and again, McInnes added: ‘Has it angered me? Not initially because you can’t control the speculation and in the past I have usually answered it and we have moved on.
‘But that doesn’t seem to be good enough, so I would reinforce everything the chairman has said.
‘I am very happy here. I have a job I’m focused on here. For me, it’s done and dusted now.’
Despite the looming doubleheader with Rangers, McInnes stayed away from Dens Park last night with interim boss Graeme Murty again in the dugout.
The McInnes impact on Aberdeen’s fortunes was illustrated by figures released yesterday showing the Pittodrie side increased their turnover by £2million to £15.28m last season, reporting an operating profit of £533,000.
Welcoming the news, the Dons boss plans to hang around after rejecting an offer from Sunderland in the summer.
And Aberdeen legend Willie Miller said: ‘It’s great news, particularly with the games coming up as there are important matches with Rangers soon. To get that statement out and clear is good news for everyone.
‘It clears the air and it was probably required that something like that was said. The club, the fans and players can relax in the knowledge that he is going to be here long term.
‘He has been really good for the club in terms of the consistency and the quality of football, so if he’s not going to Rangers or West Brom, then I think everyone will be delighted with that news.’
Milne had taken to the club’s official website during the week to end speculation over his manager’s future and said: ‘Derek made his position very clear to me. He has no intention of going anywhere.
‘He loves this club. He knows he’s respected by everyone at the club, by the fans out there.
‘It’s a big, big part of Derek’s life. He firmly believes he has unfinished business here.’