'Mortified' McInnes takes responsibility for Rangers' European exit

What the report says

Rangers manager Derek McInnes said he took full responsibility after his side were eliminated from the UEFA Conference League by Jablonec, describing the result as embarrassing. BBC Sport reported that Rangers went into the second leg in the Czech Republic holding a 1-0 aggregate lead, but exited 4-3 on penalties on Thursday after the tie finished level over 120 minutes. Findlay Curtis and James Penrice missed Rangers’ final two spot-kicks after the Scottish side had initially led the shootout.

The defeat means Rangers will not have European football beyond August, something they have not experienced since 2017, when they lost to Progres Niederkorn in Champions League qualifying. It also adds to pressure on McInnes, whose start at Ibrox has already included an earlier European exit to Jagiellonia Bialystok and a difficult beginning to the Premiership season.

McInnes said he was embarrassed by the performance and refused to excuse it, although he noted that Rangers have had a large player turnover and looked inexperienced at times. BBC Sport said Rangers had little control of the match statistically, with limited possession, only one shot on target and difficulty in duels and tackles.

He said the team had not shown enough in key moments and that simply winning on penalties would have masked deeper problems. The result leaves Rangers needing to respond quickly as they try to recover confidence and avoid further setbacks early in the campaign.