Double blow for Rangers

Dons boss Mcinnes quashes Ibrox job link as bottom of the table Dundee beat Gers

manager Derek Mcinnes says he felt compelled to publicly distance himself from a move to Rangers to try to finally end the obsessive speculation surrounding his potential switch to Ibrox.

Mcinnes was immediately installed as favourite to replace Pedro Caixinha when the Portuguese was dismissed in the wake of a draw at home to Kilmarnock – but that was a month ago.

Since then there has been no contact from the Ibrox club, yet Mcinnes has become increasingly frustrated that he has had to deal with the fall out from their dithering over making an appointment. That’s why he cleared the way for Dons chairman Stewart Milne to make Thursday’s surprise announcement that his manager was going nowhere for the foreseeable future.

Mcinnes values the close relationship he has with the building tycoon, as was evident when he rejected a lucrative move to Sunderland earlier this year. Now he wants to concentrate on life at Pittodrie, including a double header against Rangers, which at least means the Aberdeen manager will be at Ibrox on Wednesday.

Mcinnes said: “I want to reiterate what the chairman said. 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 real- ly 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.

“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.”

DONS V KILLIE PREVIEW, PULL-OUT