Rangers manager Derek McInnes says international break is too long before Kilmarnock match

Rangers manager Derek McInnes said on Thursday, 8 October, that the extended international break is too long for his side, with the full squad due to train together only on Friday before Saturday’s home Scottish Premiership match against Kilmarnock. His concern comes after 13 Rangers players went away on international duty following the club’s win over Celtic on 20 September.

McInnes told BBC Sport Scotland he was ‘not a fan’ of the break. He said the players had returned by Thursday but were not all training that day. When they assemble on the pitch together on Friday, he said, 19 days will have passed since the Celtic match. That leaves one full-squad training day before the scheduled league fixture.

Why Derek McInnes objects to the international break

The manager described a squad dispersed among national teams, each with its own staff and programme. ‘Our players are away with different federations, working with different staff and travelling all over the world for four games,’ he said. He called the time away from families tough for players and said Rangers were nervous about having them with other countries for so long.

McInnes acknowledged that the schedule was fixed. ‘I know it’s set in stone — but I’m not a fan of it to be honest,’ he said. His objection concerns the length of time before Rangers can work as a complete group again; he did not say that the break had already damaged the team’s results.

When Rangers play Kilmarnock

The Scottish Professional Football League lists Rangers against Kilmarnock for Saturday, 10 October, at 15:00. The fixture gives McInnes little time with the reunited squad before competitive play resumes. It remains an upcoming match: neither the result nor any effect of the break on Rangers’ performance can be established in advance.

Rangers entered the pause after six consecutive victories, according to BBC Sport Scotland. The two most recent wins were against Celtic, one in the League Cup and one in the Premiership. The latter came on 20 September, the match McInnes used as his reference point when describing the 19-day interval before his squad would next train together.

That run followed a difficult opening to McInnes’s time at Ibrox, which included an exit from European competition, the BBC reported. He was named Premiership manager of the month for September after four wins from four during the month. Those results explain why the interruption comes at a notable point for Rangers, but they do not show what Saturday’s performance will be.

McInnes on sustaining Rangers’ recent form

McInnes said he was under ‘no illusions’ that Rangers’ good form must continue. The six-match winning run is the context for that comment: after the break, the next test is Kilmarnock. His criticism of the international schedule was a view about preparation and time apart, rather than a claim that Rangers had lost momentum or that their next result was determined.

The manager also told the BBC he had lunch with Sir Alex Ferguson at Rangers’ training ground. He said Ferguson discussed difficult starts at Manchester United and told him that how a campaign finishes matters more than how it starts. McInnes said Ferguson had been supportive and had praised Rangers’ performance at Celtic Park.

That conversation offers a separate perspective on McInnes’s season, rather than evidence about the effect of this international break. Rangers have recent results to build on, and McInnes wants that form to continue. For now, the confirmed timetable is Friday’s planned full-squad session followed by Saturday’s scheduled match; the sporting effect of the long separation remains unknown.