McInnes ’embarrassed’ after Rangers follow Celtic’s debacle and lose in Conference League playoffs

LIBEREC, Czech Republic (AP) — Two days after Celtic's disgraceful exit in Champions League qualifying, Scottish counterpart Rangers replicated the fiasco by being trounced by the underdog Czech side Jablonec in the Conference League playoffs. The Glasgow club suffered a 1-0 lead from the first leg but succumbed to the same score in the second leg, ultimately losing 4-3 on penalties.

This marked the first time Rangers had been knocked out of European competition prior to August since 2017. Manager Derek McInnes, a rookie at the time, admitted his embarrassment, stating, “So embarrassed with it. We should be winning this tie, there’s no two ways about it.” He took full responsibility for the team's collapse, blaming himself for their subpar performance.

The previous week, Celtic had fared no better, losing 4-0 on aggregate to LASK in Austria after leading 4-0 after just 30 minutes of the second leg. This marked the second consecutive year the Scottish champions had squandered an apparent lead in the biggest European stage. Rangers had also failed to progress beyond the league phase of the Europa League last season, losing 2-1 on aggregate to Luxembourg's Progres Niederkorn in 2017.

McInnes, in his maiden season with Rangers, bore the brunt of the disappointment, acknowledging, “It’s all about trying to work towards better performances and trying to win games of football. But we were way off, we have to be totally honest with that.”