Derek McInnes pinpoints Rangers biggest strength as St Mirren fume over penalty award and VAR consistency
Rangers leave Paisley with another clean sheet as McInnes names two players who made the difference
Derek McInnes insists Rangers are heading in the right direction after extending their unbeaten domestic run to 12 matches with a comfortable 2-0 victory over St Mirren in Paisley.
Goals in either half from Ryan Naderi and captain Dan Neil secured another valuable three points for the Ibrox side, who moved to within a point of league leaders Celtic, with a game in hand still to play after this weekend.
Despite acknowledging that his team could have been more clinical in front of goal, McInnes was delighted with the way his players approached what he considers one of the more difficult away assignments in the Scottish Premiership.
“I think this is a hard place to come for any team, but for our club as well, over the years it's never easy and we didn't expect it to be anything other than that,” McInnes said. “But I thought we dealt with the game really well. I thought we were really competitive from the get-go, I thought we were tenacious, we were aggressive, we moved the ball right.
“We just came back to that last part of it not being clinical enough. Quite ironic, we scored two goals tonight from a penalty kick and a deflected shot at the edge of the box, given all the chances we had, but I actually thought in the main it was no more than we deserved.”
McInnes hails Naderi’s influence and Pandur’s heroics
Naderi was once again central to Rangers' attacking efforts, taking his season's tally to nine goals and five assists after confidently dispatching his first-half spot-kick.
McInnes was particularly impressed by the striker's work rate and physical presence, believing the forward has taken significant strides in recent weeks as he looks to establish himself as a dependable option to lead the line.
“I think he's so willing. His first port of call was to make sure he's a handful to play against and I thought he was that,” McInnes stated. “He needs to build that reputation for being horrible to play against, but equally at a club like Rangers you're going to get judged on the goals.
“He's totally shown that he's somebody you can depend on, somebody that can be trusted, somebody that you can rely on to get goals as well as bring in good performances.”
McInnes was equally thrilled with goalkeeper Ivor Pandur, who produced several important saves to preserve Rangers' clean sheet as St Mirren threatened a comeback in the closing stages.
“I think he's been very clean, very controlled with what he does. His distribution is brilliant, he makes good decisions,” he said. “I think there's so much potential in Ivor. With a rotten goalie, you're not winning nothing. He is somebody who we really take a lot of comfort from.
“I've played with goalkeepers who were brilliant and I've played with some who weren't so good and you never ever felt comfortable. With him, we do. He's been a big part of the amount of clean sheets we've had. I thought we worked hard for a clean sheet tonight but there was a spell in the second half where the space got a wee bit bigger and St Mirren managed to get a few opportunities. Thankfully, you always feel he's got that save in him.”
What St Mirren boss Craig McLeish said
St Mirren have one win from their last nine league games and boss Craig McLeish was left frustrated by the first-half penalty award, questioning the consistency of the decisions made by officials following Samuel Ramos’ challenge on James Penrice.
“My thoughts on the penalty... If that's the criteria for contact in the box, then fine,” he said. “But Kabs [Ismeal Kabia] gets wiped out in the second half after he puts a cross in. I don't even know if anyone looks at it.
“We get an apology after the game at Ibrox for a penalty that we should have got on Kabs again where there was a decent amount of contact on it. I get that if the ref gives it on the field, then it's maybe difficult for VAR to overturn it. I think if he doesn't give it there and then, I don't think VAR gets involved to give it.
“It's a difficult one and it's a frustrating one from our point of view, but there's also bits leading up to it getting to that situation that we need to deal with better. I need to be careful with what I'm saying. It's a frustrating one from our point of view.”
Asked whether he had spoken to Nick Walsh after the final whistle to seek clarification, McLeish replied bluntly: “No, there's no point.”
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