Derek McInnes conceded that his Rangers squad was not good enough to compete in the Europa League after the club was eliminated in the qualifying rounds by Jagiellonia Bialystok. The Scottish side failed to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg in Poland, drawing 1-1 at Ibrox.
Lawrence Shankland scored from the penalty spot in the first half to give Rangers a glimmer of hope. However, Jagiellonia equalized midway through the second half when forward Nik Prelec found the net with a header. The aggregate score of 3-2 in favor of the Polish club marked a significant early-season setback for Rangers and McInnes.
The result leaves McInnes without a victory in his first four matches in charge, and sections of the home support voiced their discontent during and after the match. McInnes admitted the performance was not up to the club's standards.
"This club is built for the Europa League and Champions League. That’s obviously the intention, to get there. But I’m not sure the team is quite ready for it at the moment," McInnes stated. "It pains me to say that, to be honest. We need to get more quality. We need to try and get more confidence into the team. This wasn’t an outcome that we wanted."
Rangers had looked disorganized at times during the game, prompting tactical adjustments at halftime, including a switch from a back three to a back four. McInnes described the supporters' reaction as justified.
"I think it was justified to be honest. It wasn’t good enough. What we served up throughout the second half wasn’t good enough," he said. "We’ve got to be honest with that, we’ve got to own it. It wasn’t good enough over the 90 minutes."
The club is understood to have agreed a loan deal for left-back James Penrice from AEK Athens, with an option to buy next summer. However, the focus remains on the team's on-field struggles.
Rangers will now enter the play-off round for the Europa Conference League, where they are scheduled to face Jablonec of the Czech Republic. McInnes faces a crucial League Cup tie against St Mirren at Ibrox on Sunday as he seeks his first win as manager.