Rangers boo boys entitled to demand St Mirren response as Derek McInnes lays bare Ibrox transfer needs

Fans may be losing patience but Derek McInnes has warned Rangers’ supporters that there will be no quick fix to the crisis engulfing Ibrox - insisting he is not prepared to walk away from the fight.

The pressure is already starting to build on the former Hearts manager after a nightmare opening to the season, with his side dumped out of the Europa League and left trailing Celtic by five points after just two Premiership matches.

A draw against Dundee United was followed by a home defeat to Hibs, leaving them with ground to make up before they have even had the chance to settle into the new campaign. And the mod around Ibrox darkened further following Thursday’s European exit, with furious fans making their feelings known after the 3-2 aggregate loss to Jagiellonia Bialystok.

Rangers manager Derek McInnes vents his frustration on the Ibrox touchline | Getty Images

Before turning their attention towards the Conference League play-off, where Czech side FK Jablonec lie in wait, McInnes must find a way to lift his squad when St Mirren head to Govan for Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup last-16 tie.

The Rangers boss acknowledges that disgruntled supporters are entitled to demand an immediate response, but admits his players require their full backing with confidence already fragile.

"I think they need to see something to get behind,” McInnes declared. “And they need to see action. They need to see a team who are better than what they were [on Thursday]. I think there were wee moments in the four games that were mentioned. But it's nowhere near enough.

“Nobody is sitting here and asking for understanding and patience. I quite understand the frustrations of that. And as I said, it's been more than just these four games that the frustration starts to build. And it's somewhere to vent that. But they should be seeing a better performance, and we'll aim to give them that. It's not been the start we wanted but the intention is still to have the outcome that we want it to come before the season. We're still working hard towards that, and we've got money to spend.

“We've got good ownership. We've got a lot of younger players. What we could do with is just a wee bit of help. We need to try and win games as we go along, because if you don't win games, everything becomes so much more difficult. Everything gets scrutinised when you don't win a game. That's just part of the course, so that's not going to change. The only thing that has to change is getting more winning performances. And hopefully we can have that Sunday."

Timing of Rangers’ injury woes a nightmare for McInnes

Rangers’ mounting injury list has made McInnes’ task even tougher. Youssef Chermiti has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering an ACL injury, while left-back Tuur Rommens faces up to eight weeks out with a groin issue.

To make matters worse, the Light Blues suffered a further setback in the transfer market when their £7million pursuit of PSV Eindhoven winger Couhaib Driouech collapsed after a thigh problem emerged during his medical.

For a manager who had hoped to use a sequence of four home matches to kick-start his reign, the timing could hard be worse.

"Yeah, there was a wee bit of square pegs and round holes again [versus Jagiellonia],” McInnes confessed. “No natural left back to play. No left-sided centre-backs. There's a lot of things that we would still look to try and get. We've got some players who are not quite at full fitness. You've got Nico, whose got a wee bit of an ankle complaint going on at the minute as well that we need to try and manage. So some boys aren't quite there. And some boys are still trying to find their best form as it happens at a stage of the season.

"But I think what we saw towards the end of the game was a lot of inexperience in the team. It's my job to try and help these boys perform better, and I do think with some additions in terms of balance and in terms of quality it would certainly help. I think a blind man can see that. We've got the basis of a good squad here, but to get the best from them, getting a few more in would help."

Rangers seek to end four-match Ibrox winless run

Rangers have failed to win at Ibrox since April 4 and their home form has offered little encouragement during the early weeks of McInnes’ tenure. Now St Mirren are the latest visitors looking to expose those weaknesses.

"I've watched them in the last couple of games,” McInnes revealed. “Obviously they've changed how they want to play this season. They stayed up by the skin in their teeth last season, and you have to say they've had two strong performances so far. There's a lot of players there that I know, and I’ve got a good idea of how they want to play the game come Sunday.

“I think they'll come here on the back in a couple of wins, qualifying for the League Cup through the group stages and come here confident. So we've got work to do and we need more full attention, particularly where we are at the minute.

"We'll see who's fit and available, see if there's any new additions that can come in and help the team. And just go and deal with the cup tie. We could do with just winning a game and getting a wee bit of confidence into the lads and getting a wee bit more optimism into the support."