Derek McInnes can walk out of Aberdeen with his head held high – Dons have only themselves to blame for his imminent exit for Rangers, says Kris Boyd
For four years he kept getting told there would be a new training ground and stadium built...and he’s still waiting
ABERDEEN have no one to blame but themselves.
When Derek McInnes becomes Rangers manager — and that WILL now happen — there’s no point in Stewart Milne or anyone else at Pittodrie moaning about it.
Del did his job by rejuvenating the city, let alone the football club.
He won them silverware and brought a level of success they hadn’t enjoyed for longer than anyone could remember.
But for four years he kept getting told there would be a new training ground and stadium built . . . and he’s still waiting.
Let’s get it right; he’s on the verge of leaving Aberdeen for Rangers because it’s a bigger and better club. That’s just a fact.
There is absolutely no comparison when it comes to size and stature.
Aberdeen hate Rangers but they’re not close as football clubs.
I’m just not having this idea that Del is guilty of letting Aberdeen down. For me, it’s the other way around. He can walk out of Pittodrie with his head held high when the time comes.
In moving to Rangers, he’s only doing what any manager in their right mind would do.
One thing is for sure, there’s no way Del can stay at Aberdeen now.
Officially Rangers haven’t had permission to speak to him but we all know how it works.
They’ll have been negotiating behind the scenes, probably through a third party.
Rangers would only get in touch with the Dons when they knew Del wanted to go.
That’s just the way it works. The same way Aberdeen will have sat down and discussed what to do after they lose their manager, probably by sounding out some people who are currently in jobs themselves.
But the bottom line is that Del wants the Rangers job — and quite rightly so.
When he started as a player, his dream was to pull on the Light Blue jersey and he did that.
Had you asked him when he was starting out in management at St Johnstone where he wanted to end up, I’d bet he’d have said Rangers.
He’s now going to get that opportunity. He’s earned it.
I know some people question the job he’s done for Aberdeen, but not me.
I look at the calibre of player he signed and the improvements he made.
I see the fact he finished above Rangers last season on a third of their budget.
Aberdeen found a level of consistency they hadn’t had in years and that was down to Del and his assistant Tony Docherty.
They know what they’re doing. They are just what Rangers need right now.
It’s only recently, after defeats to the Old Firm, that he’s probably started to ask himself how much further he could take the team.
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He’ll be looking at Rangers and thinking he can make them better.
Sure, Celtic are a good way in front but I don’t buy the idea they are untouchable.
It doesn’t need to be a complete overhaul at Ibrox.
They don’t need to sign a dozen new players to close the gap — five or six could be enough.
It will still take a bit of time and there has to be realistic targets.
Nothing is going to happen overnight, but Rangers can cement their position as the second-best team in the country first and take things from there.
They’ve taken their time over this and come in for some criticism for that.
But I can understand why they wanted to look at different options before picking their No 1 target. It’s made things difficult for Del because he’s had to answer questions on it.
One thing I will say is that NO ONE at Ibrox will be safe when he takes charge. Whether it’s players or members of staff behind the scenes.
Del has a ruthless streak. He’s single-minded and not afraid to make decisions that could be unpopular.
When he went into Aberdeen, one of the first things he did was tell one of their legends, Jim Leighton, that he could go.
He wanted to bring in Gordon Marshall and nothing was going to stop him.
I think one or two physios who had been at the club a long time were also shown the door.
So there will possibly be some people who suffer that same fate at Rangers in the coming days.
It’s nothing personal, just a ruthlessness in him to do whatever it takes. For me, that’s what the best managers have, like it or not.
Walter Smith had that. Graeme Souness had that before him.
They were single-minded and determined to do whatever was necessary to get the job done.
He doesn’t suffer fools and, while I’m not saying there are fools at Ibrox, everyone had better be prepared for what’s coming.
No one can blame him for that, just as no one can blame him for wanting this job.
Certainly not anyone at Aberdeen.