Poor start and injury crisis threaten to derail Rangers' season

[BBC] Rangers' season could scarcely have got off to a worse start. Not only have performances and results been poor, but injuries to three first-team players (Ben Godfrey, Youssef Chermiti and Tuur Rommens) have handed Derek McInnes a serious problem as he tries to navigate a challenging first few weeks in the job. Clearly, Chermiti's ACL injury, which will likely rule him out for the majority, if not all, of the season, is the most damaging to Rangers' hopes of mounting a title bid. That might force Rangers' hand in the transfer market unless Bojan Miovski is given an opportunity to prove his worth, having looked like a peripheral figure in the early weeks of the season. They have already spent a considerable sum this window, with Couhaib Driouech looking like the latest addition, but McInnes has yet to find his best team and a system that allows them to flourish. The 4-4-2 that worked so well for McInnes at Hearts last season has not worked particularly well so far for Rangers, and it will be interesting to see whether he persists with it or looks to tweak it to better suit the players at his disposal. Some of the manager's selections have been questioned, as have some signings, and it's definitely fair to say, on the evidence of the opening three games, that a number of players have yet to prove their worth to the Rangers supporters. Their next opportunity to do that comes on Thursday when they attempt to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Jagiellonia Bialystok to reach the Europa League play-off stage. It already feels like a pivotal game in Rangers' season. Win and progress, and the mood around Ibrox will improve and a platform from which to build will be put in place. Failure to do so will add to the negative vibe that has been created by the winless start to the season, while also striking a financial and reputational blow to the club. McInnes knew what he was walking into when he accepted the task of becoming Rangers manager, so he knows what's at stake and he has to find a way of getting through this tie to engender a bit of positivity around Ibrox.