Derek McInnes addresses Wouter Vrancken flashpoint in Hearts vs Rangers and his 'surreal' Tynecastle moment
The Rangers manager has reacted to his night back at Tynecastle against Hearts.
Derek McInnes claimed it was water under the bridge with Wouter Vrancken after returning to Tynecastle as manager of Rangers, during a 2-2 Premiership draw against Hearts.
The former Jambos boss was met with booing and jeering throughout the game. Claudio Braga and Calvin Miller goals cancelled out Kevin Kelsy’s away team opener but an Olwethu Makhanya header eventually split the spoils. Tensions appeared to boil between the Rangers manager and his successor at Hearts upon full-time, but dismissing the suggestion post-match when asked, McInnes said: “No, all good. I think he just thanked me, how grateful he is for me leaving him such a strong squad here.”
Despite the booing, McInnes understood the reaction he received on the touchline, although seeing stars he recruited for Hearts prior to his exit left him stunned. A clutch of those in maroon also left him impressed on a night he rued elements of his side’s display.
Derek McInnes on return to Hearts
He added: “Scottish football is what it is. I didn’t expect anything different, and why should I? I get it. I totally get it. I liked coming round and seeing all my ex-players and all the players I signed. I actually met some of the players I’d signed for the first time. It was quite surreal, but seeing all the staff here and all my former players was brilliant.
“I had a brilliant time here. There was only fondness, so that’s part of it. But once the whistle goes, I know people aren’t going to be kind to me and I totally understand that. It doesn’t change how I feel about this club and my time here.
“I thought Hearts, certainly for that 15-minute period before half-time, kept picking up a lot of the ball and feeding their wider players and forward players. I thought their forward players looked after the ball a lot better. We were giving away umpteen free-kicks and playing with fire, to be honest. We were disappointed that, going into half-time, we gave up a lot of control of the game.
Hearts 2-2 Rangers review
“You’ve got to credit Hearts. I think Hearts had the better players. I think they had three or four real top performers and players who played really well, so I have to be honest with that. We never started the second half. It’s inexplicable, really. We lose another free-kick, given away cheaply, and we get punished this time for it with Claudio’s goal. Then we lose possession.
“When you lose possession against a team like Hearts, because of the way they drag you all over, they’re also susceptible in transition if they give the ball away in those areas. But they’re capable of punishing you and they were good enough to punish us. We never defended with any real certainty tonight and we needed to in those moments. As the game played on and we made changes, it was only really in the last 15 or 20 minutes that we started to knit a few passes.
“ I think that was partly because Hearts were maybe tiring a wee bit, the game became a bit bigger and the spaces became a bit bigger. We started to play a wee bit more and we got an equaliser from a set play, which is pleasing. From that point of view, we deserved our point. Although we should have won it at the end, it would have been really harsh on Hearts had we taken it.
“We didn’t do enough to win the game, but we worked hard. I think the stats will show we had more possession, more big chances and a similar number of shots on target. But, as I say, the better performers were in Hearts jerseys.