Derek McInnes reveals the Kilmarnock secret to seeing off Rangers as Rugby Park hoodoo continues

Derek McInnes hailed his mentality monsters after watching Kilmarnock gobble up their big chance to stun Rangers.

The Rugby Park side have endured a difficult start to the season trying to balance their Euro commitments with domestic affairs. The pressure was on when they travelled to Dens Park before the international break but two stoppage-time strikes produced their first Premiership win of the season. They’ve now backed that victory up with another huge result after Marley Watkins pounced three minutes from time.

And McInnes - whose side now climb to seventh spot - was delighted to see his team hold their nerve against Philippe Clement’s ragged Rangers. He said: “For me, this win illustrates fitness, it illustrates the strength of the squad. And it also illustrates a real determination. I don't think any of my players at any point settled for 0-0, which wouldn't have been the worst result.

“You would take positives from the performance. But I felt and still hoped there was a bit more on the bone for us. Thankfully, we managed to get that. I do think that we're well up and running now. It's one of the trade-offs of playing in Europe competitively.

“The players physically are in a good place. The fitness of the players is good. Competitively, we've got loads of games under our belt. The trade-off for that, early in the season, domestically, we weren't quite at our best.

“But today I thought tactically we were good. But more important when you play Rangers and the Celtics when they come here, it's that mental part of it. I thought the mental strength of the team was good. They always felt there was something, a win there for us. Thankfully, we managed to see that through.”

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