Ton the road to the top
Derek McInnes began his professional career at Morton in 1988, where he played over 200 games for the Greenock team.
He moved to Rangers seven years later, with a loan at Stockport County also coming during his five-year spell at Ibrox.
Paisley-born McInnes was sold to West Brom in 2000. He bagged two Scotland caps in his time in the Black Country, as a substitute against Portugal and Denmark.
After the Baggies were relegated in 2003 he moved back up north to Dundee United, where he spent three seasons. He then moved to St Johnstone via six months in London with Millwall.
McInnes stepped into management with Saints in 2007 when Owen Coyle left for Burnley.
He promoted the Saints to the top tier of Scottish football less than two years later.
McInnes moved down south to Bristol City in October 2011. He enjoyed a rosy start by keeping the Robins in the Championship but ended his time there with the club eight points adrift.
The 46-year-old then took charge at Aberdeen at the end of the 20122013 season to replace the retiring Craig Brown.
By winning the League Cup on penalties against Inverness in 2014 he scooped the Dons’ first trophy in 19 years.
Under McInnes last season, Aberdeen won 10 home games in a row, one better than Sir Alex Ferguson’s side of 1985/86. They also notched a first win at Ibrox since 1991.
English Championship outfit Sunderland were interested in McInnes in the summer but opted to stay in the Granite City.
He was tipped to become Gers boss after Pedro Caixinha’s sacking but remained loyal again to the Dons.