Derek McInnes has officially left Hearts to take over as Rangers manager.
In a sequence of events that feels almost too obvious, Hearts have lost their captain and manager to Ibrox within a month of losing the title to Celtic in the most agonising circumstances possible.
It was often said in Scottish football that McInnes had blown his chance to be Rangers manager in December 2017, when he rejected them to stay at Aberdeen.
But it just felt too inevitable not to ever happen, and now we’re set for another season of Martin O’Neill vs McInnes, only in a new form.
Should Celtic fans be delighted Rangers are turning to Derek McInnes?
Or are we underestimating him?
Rangers have gambled on Derek McInnes after he blew a golden opportunity against Celtic
There’s no denying that McInnes did some remarkable things at Tynecastle last season as Hearts finished on 80 points.
But the context of the season also leaves a feeling that he and the club blew a golden opportunity — the like of which is unlikely to come around again in the foreseeable future.
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Plenty of things fell in Hearts’ favour in the first half of the season, leaving them in pole position to win the title… they then won just one away game after January.
People will undoubtedly point at the Sam Nicholson handball incident on the penultimate day, but to reduce their season to this is to ignore the many other moments on which they could’ve won the points to get themselves over the line.
Tony Bloom would insist that last season was just the beginning of a new era of Hearts routinely taking the fight to the Glasgow clubs, but he’s not daft.
Wilfried Nancy and Russell Martin don’t come around every season.
As for McInnes, there is no question that the guy has expertise in Scottish football. He improved Aberdeen, Kilmarnock and Hearts with a core of hard-working, physical players.
Will the same template apply to Rangers? Time will tell — much more important to Celtic fans is how the champions navigate a seismic rebuild this summer… a start would be securing O’Neill’s backroom staff.
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Derek McInnes’ dismal record against Celtic
Also, for what it’s worth, McInnes’ record against Celtic is truly dire.
He has a win percentage of just 13.1% against the Hoops. In 61 clashes, he has won just eight, drawn four and lost a whopping 49.
The obvious counter-argument is that he has been at a financial disadvantage to Celtic in his roles at Hearts, Kilmarnock, Aberdeen and St Johnstone
But it certainly doesn’t bode well for a man entering the Ibrox dugout to have such a track record of failure against their biggest rivals.
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