Derek McInnes has been warned he is about to face pressure unlike anything he has previously experienced, after being confirmed as Rangers' latest manager this summer. Graeme Souness, who took charge of the Ibrox club himself 40 years ago, said finishing second in Scotland is treated as failure in a way it is not at most other clubs in Europe.
McInnes is the sixth person to hold the Rangers job in as many years, a turnover rate Souness says reflects the unforgiving nature of managing one of Scottish football's two dominant clubs.
"It used to be called Latin disease when I was a player, where managers got very little time," Souness said. "But that's in the British game now as well. And it's amplified here in Glasgow because finishing second is deemed a failure. That's the price on the ticket if you're managing one of the Old Firm. You either accept that on day one or you're in for a very difficult period."
Souness, who won five league titles and three European Cups as a player with Liverpool before becoming Rangers player-manager at the age of 33, was Rangers' eighth permanent manager in 114 years when he arrived in Glasgow. He said only a handful of leagues carry the same expectation.
"There are only certain leagues where finishing second is a disaster," he said. "It would be for Bayern Munich and it's the same story in Spain. But it's not the case in England. Finish second down there and it's deemed a good season."
McInnes' start to life at Ibrox
McInnes began his Rangers reign with a 1-1 draw away at Dundee United. Souness said the new manager's background as a Rangers player and his knowledge of Scottish football count in his favour, but will not shield him from scrutiny.
"Derek obviously knows the football club having been there as a player," Souness said. "He knows Scottish football having been around the Scottish scene. He was successful at Hearts last season because if you ask any of their supporters what their year was like they'll say it was disappointing in the end, but they had a great season. That doesn't apply at Rangers."
"So, although all those boxes are ticked, he'll find himself under enormous pressure that he's never had before simply because of the nature of the job in Glasgow. You don't get a job in football management because it's going well. That's rare."
Souness pointed out that none of the recent managers before McInnes inherited a team already performing well, and each was placed under significant pressure from the outset. "Finishing second just isn't good enough. But he'll know that having been a player at the club and enjoyed success. He knows what success feels like."
A brief connection at a railway station
Now 73, Souness said his only real dealings with McInnes came from a chance meeting on a railway platform in Preston several years ago.
"I don't know Derek, although I met him on the railway station platform at Preston one day," he said. "I think he was coming back from a cruise and I was heading down south having done some work at Blackburn. He was heading back up the road. Nice guy. Really nice guy."
Asked whether being well liked could work against a manager in such a demanding role, Souness said the job has changed. "That'll change. I don't think management is about that anymore. It's about keeping the players onside, the ones who aren't starting every week, keeping a happy group. I don't think there's ever been more difficult time to be a manager than it is today."
Souness' own Rangers legacy
Souness's own arrival at Ibrox in the 1980s proved a turning point for the club. He persuaded a number of established England internationals to join Rangers and delivered the club's first league title in eight years in his debut season, laying the foundation for Walter Smith's run of nine consecutive titles that followed.
But Souness said the years since Rangers' financial collapse in 2012 have brought a much thinner trophy haul, amounting to one league title, one Scottish Cup and one League Cup.
"They've been disappointing," he said. "You can talk about the structures of a football club, but the most important thing you have to get right is what goes on the pitch."
"I think Rangers, in their recruitment, for a long period of time have been under par. You can have every other part of your club working perfectly, but if the Saturday isn't right then none of that matters. But if it's working on the pitch then everything is rosy in the garden."
Concerns over recruitment control
Souness said he does not envy McInnes' position, given that modern managers are typically judged solely on results despite having only limited say over transfers and recruitment.
"I'm sure when he walked in the door all the questions would have been asked," he said. "If I had been a manager walking in, I would have been, 'Right, what's the story? Do you have money? And who is going to make those decisions?'"
"That's why I'm a dinosaur because I couldn't work under the modern way that most clubs seem to do where someone else is responsible for the most important part of the job at a football club, and that's recruitment. If you get that right then everything else will follow. If you don't get that right, then you'll be changing your manager on a regular basis."
A new captain in Lawrence Shankland
Rangers have also handed the captaincy to Lawrence Shankland, a boyhood supporter of the club, following the departure of James Tavernier. Souness said he had met Shankland once before, at a dinner four or five years ago, and came away impressed.
"Time will tell, it's early days," Souness said. "Playing for Hearts and anyone else in Scotland is very different to playing for Rangers or Celtic. If you can deal with that then great. I sat next to the boy Shankland at a dinner four or five years ago and he was charming, a rock steady character. That's how he appeared to me, so he should be fine. But they are going to be tested. Unless you've been to Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool or Man United then you're going to be tested like you've never been tested before."
