Derek McInnes debunks Rangers myth as he knows exactly what Kilmarnock are walking into

Derek McInnes reckons Giovanni van Bronckhorst was perfect on the pitch as a team-mate at Rangers.

Now, as a rival manager at Kilmarnock, he thinks the Dutchman has shown he can be pitch perfect with his work as an Ibrox gaffer. McInnes will go head-to-head with his former colleague tomorrow when he takes his Ayrshire outfit up the M77 to Govan. At the same time as he was busy pushing his Rugby Park squad towards promotion last term to get into the top-flight, van Bronckhorst was taking Rangers to a Europa League Final.

McInnes got a first-hand look at those efforts when doing work as a TV analyst and instantly noticed that an old myth was being blown away by the Light Blues gaffer as he led his men all the way to the showpiece in Seville. The Killie boss looked back to their playing days and explained: “I really liked him. A brilliant boy and great player, first and foremost.

“We all judge players coming in the door straight away and you could see from the first few training sessions how good he was. A real technician, elegant, smooth in the midfield with a goal in him. Very confident and assured and he plotted his career well. Rangers, Arsenal, Barcelona, World Cup Finals, European stage. He was a dream of a player and really respected in the dressing room. He was laid back and fun as a team-mate, but there was a switch and a competitor and I see similarities as a manager.

“Do you know what I’ve really liked about him? As managers sometimes there is this old adage: Once they cross the white line you can’t help your team. And I don’t believe that for a minute. I actually believe he navigated Rangers through the European stages, in particular, through certain challenges, through 90 minutes.

“His changes were