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'We beat ourselves' - McInnes bemoans costly Rangers defensive lapses in Polish heat

· Lewis Anderson · 2026-08-06 · nguồn gốc

'We beat ourselves' - Derek McInnes bemoans costly Rangers defensive lapses in Polish heat Rangers boss still looking for first win in charge after Europa League hopes dealt blow against Jagiellonia Bialystok Derek McInnes admits Rangers showed annoying glimpses of last season’s failings in their 2-1 defeat to Jagiellonia Bialystok in the first leg of the Europa League third round qualifier. Defensive lapses cost Rangers dear again on the continent as a first-half brace from Kajetan Szmyt cancelled out Guilherme Montoia’s early own goal for the hosts. It means the Polish side will head to Ibrox next week with a slender advantage. McInnes - still awaiting his first victory as manager - was left frustrated by his side's error-strewn display in baking temperatures at the Chorten Arena, leaving them with work to do to advance to the play-off round. “I just felt we beat ourselves,” McInnes admitted post-match. “I thought we started the game really well with an element of control. The team we picked was to make sure that their rotations in midfield weren’t a problem for us - and they weren’t. I thought our three that were fine in there at times. ”We got off to a good start, a good bit of combination play, being patient with what we were trying to do and putting a bit of stress on our defender to defend the situation. And obviously, he scores an own goal and it’s a perfect start. ‘We’re giving teams too much encouragement’ “Then we stopped doing what was working for us. We made two mistakes for the two goals. I’m not going to watch us all season lose the ball on the edge of their box and it ends up in a chance for the opposition. “We need to be far more concentrated, far more focused, far more aggressive, far more talkative and organised to stop these types of things happening. We’ve seen a lot tonight of what I thought Rangers were last season. I thought they gave up too many chances and gave teams too much encouragement. “Yes, there are some positives. I thought when wee [Findlay] Curtis and Nico [Raskin] and Cammy [Devlin] came on, but we don’t throw the kitchen sink at it because it is a two-legged game. We feel there’s another big performance in us at Ibrox next Thursday. “But we’ve got to be honest and say we’re giving teams too much encouragement and we’re guilty of beating ourselves tonight. That’s no disrespect to our opponents, because on transitions and counter attacks, it fuels them. They’ve got those pacey wide players and they get up and down the pitch quickly. “Having watched them, I knew it would be a tough game, particularly here at home and they’re a strong side in a strong Polish league, but I still expect us to come here and win the game, and we’re disappointed that we haven’t.”