Derek McInnes says he is comfortable knowing he can only survive as Rangers manager if he delivers trophies quickly, ahead of Sunday's Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Celtic at Ibrox.
Victory would send Rangers back to Hampden Park in seven weeks' time. The club last won the League Cup in the 2023-24 season, 12 years after their previous triumph in the competition.
"We need to be more relevant domestically as a club," McInnes said. "We haven't been. We've had sporadic cup wins and one league title."
Rangers have won each of the three main domestic honours in Scotland only once in the past 15 years, a run of underachievement that has driven heavy turnover in the Ibrox dugout. McInnes, a former Rangers midfielder, becomes the club's tenth permanent manager in that period.
Accepting the pressure
McInnes said he understood the demands that come with the job and that everyone at the club, players and staff alike, carried the same responsibility.
"I understand the nature of the business and we all sign up for it," he said. "When we come here, we all have the responsibility, players, staff alike, that we're here to deliver silverware and if we don't, we won't be here long."
He added that the challenge was one to embrace rather than fear. "For me, it's something we have to try and grasp and work towards and not be daunted by. Working for Rangers gives you great opportunities and we see this as a brilliant opportunity on Sunday to take a step closer to silverware."
The Celtic factor
McInnes acknowledged that previous Rangers managers had come under quick pressure partly because of their failure to beat Celtic, the club's fiercest rival in the fixture widely known as the Old Firm derby.
He drew a comparison with his previous job at Hearts, where he said managers who could not win Edinburgh derbies against Hibernian did not tend to survive long either.
"I had the same conversation last season at Hearts where Hearts managers don't really normally survive if they can't win derbies. I think it's just the same," he said. "Obviously, this is a bigger fixture and the spotlight is on it."
McInnes said winning did not guarantee a trophy outright, since two further cup ties would still need to be won, but that it built credit with supporters and the club.
"If you can win these games, you've still got two cup ties to win a trophy, so it doesn't guarantee anything. But I do think it gives you a bit of credit in the bank," he said. "Obviously, if you don't win them then there's just a bit more scrutiny on you. But listen, I know what I signed up for. I know the job requires you to be the best team in Glasgow, to be the best team in Scotland and hopefully we can do that."
Preparing for penalties
The last three cup meetings between Rangers and Celtic have all gone beyond 90 minutes, with Celtic winning two of those ties on penalty kicks.
McInnes said he hoped his side could settle Sunday's match in normal time but felt it was sensible to prepare for every outcome, including a penalty shootout.
"I think if you're playing a certain cup tie and you're strong favourites then you wouldn't want to send that message out to your players that this might go to penalties," he said. "In this kind of game, where there are two strong teams and it might be a tight game then I think it's certainly professional to do it."
Rangers will face Celtic on Sunday at Ibrox, with a place in the League Cup semi-final at Hampden Park at stake.
