McInnes replaces Rohl at Rangers – was decision no-brainer?

Rangers have appointed Derek McInnes as manager on a three-year contract after agreeing a compensation deal with Scottish Premiership rivals Hearts.

McInnes is the third boss at Ibrox inside a year and replaces Danny Rohl, whose move to Austrian side RB Salzburg was confirmed earlier on Wednesday.

The 54-year-old joined Hearts from Kilmarnock last summer and led the Tynecastle club to a second-placed finish, missing out on the title to Celtic on a dramatic final day, but edging Rangers out of the Champions League qualifiers.

The former Rangers midfielder turned down an approach from the Ibrox club in December 2017 in order to stay at Aberdeen but has now followed Tynecastle captain Lawrence Shankland in moving from Hearts.

“It is a real honour,” McInnes said. “The demands here are clear and our supporters rightfully have high expectations. It is up to me, my staff and my players to meet those expectations, and have this club performing as it should.

“There is a lot of hard work ahead, but already the preparations have begun and I am looking forward to meeting the current squad in the coming weeks and welcoming some new faces.”

Alan Archibald, Paul Sheerin and Craig Clark will assist McInnes.

While Rohl was head coach, McInnes will have the title of manager and was the frontrunner as soon as it emerged that the German was keen to leave for Salzburg.

Chairman Andrew Cavenagh said the Scot is “someone we have always rated highly” and is “exactly what this club needs at this moment in time”.

He added: “His deep Scottish and Rangers experience are important for us. He knows how to win in this league, and he is coming off an extremely strong season with Hearts.”

Rohl, 37, replaced Russell Martin as head coach in October and steered Rangers into a three-way title fight, but a post-split collapse yielded a third-placed finish behind Celtic and Hearts as the Ibrox club ended the campaign without silverware.

Cavenagh – who publicly backed Rohl at the end of the season – thanked him for his “service and commitment to Rangers”.

“He and his staff put in a significant amount of hard work during his time in charge, which we are greatly appreciative of,” he added.

McInnes, who has taken charge of more than 800 games, began his coaching career at St Johnstone in 2007 before a stint with Bristol City.

He joined Aberdeen in 2013 and spent eight years at Pittodrie, lifting the League Cup in his first full season and finishing second behind Celtic in the Premiership in four successive campaigns.

After a 10-month break, McInnes returned with Kilmarnock in January 2022, steering the club back to the top flight.

He finished 10th, fourth and ninth in three Premiership terms at Rugby Park before coming close to ending Hearts’ 66-year wait for a fourth title.

Hearts were unbeaten at home in the league last season, with McInnes winning 28 of his 44 matches in all competitions, including three of their four meetings with Rangers and home and away victories over Celtic.

His Ibrox move reunites McInnes with Scotland striker Shankland, who joined Rangers three weeks ago after scoring 20 goals for Hearts last term.

BBC Scotland chief sports writer Tom English

For Rangers, McInnes is a no-brainer, an obvious call.

He’s very experienced, a gnarled pro in Scotland, there’s nothing he doesn’t know about this league. His work ethic is through the roof.

He will be a very good fit for Rangers. They will spend money this summer and I just think it makes sense.

Former Scotland and Hearts manager Craig Levein

Derek managed to keep the players together at Hearts. That’s one of the most difficult things to do – keep everyone happy – and he did it. There was never any noises coming out of Tynecastle of things going on behind the scenes.

He knows the league better than any manager. He’s been at the coalface for a long, long time. He knows every trick in the book and has been successful pretty much everywhere he’s been.

Rohl’s Rangers record across all competitions stands at 22 wins, 11 losses and seven draws in 40 fixtures.

Having initially withdrawn from the Rangers running, he had a change of heart and took the job after the club were unable to secure Steven Gerrard or Kevin Muscat.

The German revived Rangers’ fortunes following the reign of Russell Martin, turning the team from mid-table stragglers to title contenders.

However, Rangers wilted post-split as a run of four straight defeats in their final five games wrecked hopes of a first Premiership crown in five years.

Being eliminated from both domestic cups by Old Firm rivals Celtic further heightened fans’ frustrations and turned up the pressure on Rohl.

However, Cavenagh – whose American consortium took control a year ago – moved to quell speculation over the head coach’s future last month amid reported interest from Wolfsburg and vowed Rohl would oversee a “summer of substantial change”.

Rohl was given funds to bring in four players in January, while Shankland was lured from Hearts last month as a squad reshape beckoned in his first summer in charge.

However, that will now fall to McInnes, with Rangers having wasted no time in their manager hunt with the squad scheduled to return to training this week.

Rangers will enter the Europa League at the third qualifying round stage, a few days after their Premiership opener on the weekend of 1/2 August.