The legendary former manager visited the Rangers training centre earlier this week and caught up with close pal McInnes
Sir Alex Ferguson(Image: MI News/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)
Not every manager enjoys the privilege of Sir Alex Ferguson calling them and asking if he can pop by for lunch.
When it comes to a football sounding board they don’t come any better than the most iconic Scottish gaffer of all time. So Derek McInnes knows how lucky he is.
That’s why, when the great man’s name flashes up on his phone, the Rangers boss doesn’t hesitate to answer. Any chance he gets to be in Sir Alex’s company, he takes it.
Ferguson was in Glasgow this week and made a point of visiting McInnes at their Auchenhowie training base. The pair have grown close over the years.
Their relationship has developed since McInnes was in charge of Fergie’s old club, Aberdeen. Last season, he was a regular at Tynecastle as the legendary former Manchester United boss supported Hearts and McInnes in their unlikely Premiership title bid.
It wasn’t to be for the Jambos. But McInnes might have a better chance of getting his hands on the trophy now. He revealed that he had long conversations with Sir Alex over the summer when he was offered the job as Rangers manager.
As a Govan boy and ex-Ibrox striker, Ferguson would have urged McInnes to grasp the opportunity. And on Tuesday, he was on hand again with advice as Gers boss sets his sights on another league challenge.
Fergie was impressed by how McInnes’ side beat Celtic at Parkhead before the international break. And ahead of Saturday’s Premiership clash with Kilmarnock, he said: “He messaged me on Monday to see if he could come in and see us on Tuesday.
“He was up in Glasgow dealing with one or two things and seeing his brother. So he came in on Tuesday for lunch and spent a bit of time with the staff and myself, chewing the fat as he does. It was great to see him.
“He’s in good health. Obviously, he’s got a wee bit of difficulty with his walking at the minute but he’s determined. He says he’s two months away from being right as rain again and he certainly looked in decent spirits.
“Sir Alex is somebody who has always been really supportive. I’m sure he is for a lot of managers. But for myself, he’s been really kind with that. Any time you get to spend with him, either on the phone or in person, you’ve got to take that opportunity. I’m grateful for that.
“He was, particularly last season, a big supporter of what we were doing at Hearts. He was a regular visitor, so it’s nice that we’ve managed to catch up.
“I’ve had a couple of conversations with him since I’ve been at Rangers. But to see him in person was good, particularly after his health scare. I had a discussion with him in the summer.
“He enjoyed what we were doing at Hearts. I think he genuinely felt that a club outwith the Old Firm could win the league. But he understood when the opportunity to come here was there for me.
“We’d spoke long and hard about it. I think he just wants good things to happen for me. He has been very supportive and I enjoy having conversations with him. There’s always something you come away with that he’s not said previously.
“He spoke about his own difficult start at Man United. He said it’s how you finish a season, not how you start the campaign. Sometimes it can take time. As we know in modern football, sometimes you don’t always get that time.
“But he thought we were really strong in the performance against Celtic Park in particular.”
That display in the derby was underpinned by several terrific individual performances from Rangers players.None more so than South African defender Olwethu Makhanya, who has just been voted as the Premiership’s Player of the Month.
When he arrived for £3 million from MLS outfit Philadelphia Union in the summer, plenty of Gers supporters questioned the signing.
But not now. Even Sir Alex must be impressed by how well he’s settled into this Rangers team. And McInnes accepts that his centre-back has exceeded expectations so far.
He said: “Yeah, probably. When we took him, we’d liked a lot of what we’d seen. We felt there was enough evidence there. The profile, the speed of him, how he handles one-v-one situations and his calmness on the ball.
“But the MLS is a completely different league to Scotland, where it’s a wee bit quicker, more physical, and a bit blood and thunder.
“The MLS is very technical and slow paced. You don’t need to defend loads of crosses. It’s very tactical. But what we’ve seen in him is an ability to cope and deal with different situations.
“When we signed Maka, there was a hope that he could hit the ground running. But to come in and be as strong as he’s been is credit to him.
“He’s over here on his own. But he’s dealt with it brilliantly. He’s very quietly effective. Even Monday to Friday, he quietly gets about his work. It’s good that a player like him gets this recognition.
“There could have been a few players in the team who could have won the award. But rightly so, his performances have been highlighted of late. We just need that to continue and he knows that as well.”
McInnes and Rangers are in a good place after back-to-back Old Firm wins before the break. But the manager knows they’ve achieved nothing yet and wants his players to pick up where they left off.
He said: “It helped going into the Celtic games on the back of four wins. I thought we looked ready for Celtic games and they were obviously two big wins for us.
“But we’re only in the infancy of the season. There’s still so much to play for and we want to just try and maintain it. We’re going to get judged over a period of months, not just one month and a few weeks.
“Everybody’s under no illusions here about us having to keep the shoulder of the wheel and keep cracking on.”