McInnes on Shankland captaincy, new signings & potential outgoings

David Currie - BBC Sport Scotland Senior ReporterWed, July 29, 2026 at 2:59 PM UTC

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Derek McInnes has been speaking to the media as he prepares for his first competitive game as Rangers head coach away to Dundee United on Friday night.

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Here are the main points:

After naming striker Lawrence Shankland as captain, McInnes says he "has evidence of how well he runs a dressing room [at Hearts]" and stresses "he knows the club, he knows what's expected and we have a strong relationship as well".

The Rangers boss admits he needs more than just Shankland to lead: "We need as many captains underneath him to share the burden."

McInnes saw the way previous skipper James Tavernier would get "rolled out after every sore defeat" and "always thought it was a bit unfair" stressing he wants his Rangers team to "deal with the responsibility".

On signings, McInnes is hopeful Rangers will "announce one tonight or tomorrow" and that will be South African defender Owethu Makhanya.

Rangers are "short on numbers" defensively and "probably still need to bring in another couple of defenders before the window closes".

Oliver Antman, who has been strongly linked with a move to Anderlecht, is set to depart, with McInnes saying: "I believe a deal has been agreed and Oliver [Antman] has travelled to finalise that".

McInnes confirms the club will appeal his four-game touchline ban, meaning he could be on the touchline for the league opener: "I want to be there, I want to be able to do my job".

Looking ahead to that game, McInnes says "it's been well-documented that Rangers haven't started the first game of the season well for a number of years" but feels Friday night's match is a "real opportunity to start as we mean to go on".

On Nico Raskin, who is due to arrive back at the club on Thursday night, McInnes says there have been no offers for the Belgium international but "we'll look at that if something comes in".

Defender John Souttar "might have one or two options" to leave Ibrox. McInnes says: "We've had a conversation about that and I think he's looking at options to explore."

Team news: Thelo Aasgaard and Cammy Devlin should both be fit for Friday night but it may come too soon for Connor Barron.

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