McInnes: Rangers 'guilty of beating ourselves' after Europa League setback

Two games into the Derek McInnes era and Rangers are still waiting for their first win. The latest setback came in Poland, where Jagiellonia Bialystok claimed a 2-1 first-leg victory in the Europa League third qualifying round. McInnes did not hide his frustration. After a lackluster draw at Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership opener, Rangers were again undone by avoidable mistakes. "We are guilty of beating ourselves tonight," he said. "We gave up too many chances and gave teams too much encouragement. No disrespect to the opponent, but on transitions and counterattacks, that fuels them." The first half was worryingly familiar. Jagiellonia moved through Rangers with ease, and soon after Thelo Aasgaard tried an audacious spin on the edge of the hosts' box, the home side countered and scored. Central defenders Dujon Sterling and Emmanuel Fernandez looked vulnerable all night, and the same soft center that has hurt Rangers for some time was exposed once more. McInnes has made nine signings this summer and expects more, but the patterns of last season are still visible. At halftime he turned to Cammy Devlin, Findlay Curtis and Nicolas Raskin, and the response was more encouraging. Curtis stood out: the 20-year-old, who impressed on loan at Kilmarnock and earned a Scotland World Cup squad call-up, struck the post and sent another attempt just wide. Former Rangers striker Steven Thompson was quick to highlight the youngster's impact. "He wants to go and take people on," Thompson said. "There is not enough of that in this Rangers side. His performance was one of the major positives from the evening." McInnes, though, wants more toughness across the team. "There is no bigger drain on confidence for any player, team or support than losing cheap goals," he said. "We have to be far more stingy with our work and defend the goal with our lives." Rangers are not out of the tie, but two matches into the McInnes era, the warning signs are there. The new manager knows the scale of the task, and after this display, fixing the old flaws has become the immediate priority.