--- title: "Pain of Hearts Title Heartbreak Driving Rangers Push Under McInnes" canonical: "https://readrangers.com/2026/09/25/derek-mcinnes-rangers-title-push-hearts-pain/" type: "post" language: "en-GB" section: "Rangers News" published: "2026-09-25T05:00:00Z" modified: "2026-09-25T05:00:00Z" --- # Pain of Hearts Title Heartbreak Driving Rangers Push Under McInnes **Derek McInnes walked into Ibrox with the sting of a title race still fresh in his mind.** Back-to-back derby wins over Celtic, in the Premier Sports Cup and then the Premiership, have lifted Rangers to within two points of the top of the table, with the former providing a Hampden date with Aberdeen. Former Ibrox striker Bobby Williamson watched last Sunday’s win at Parkhead in person and believes he can see a manager drawing directly on last season’s near miss. His Hearts side had gone into the final day of last season top of the Premiership, only to lose at Parkhead and watch Celtic lift the trophy instead. That pain has not gone away. If anything, it has hardened into fuel for the Derek McInnes Rangers project, and the early signs suggest his players are feeling the benefit. ## The Scar tissue Shaping Rangers’ Title Charge Williamson, who scored plenty of derby goals of his own during his playing days, is well placed to judge what McInnes is building. He is currently promoting his new autobiography, Out of Easterhouse – The Bobby Williamson story, and has been speaking widely about the state of Scottish football along the way. His view on McInnes is straightforward. A manager who has already lived through the worst version of a title race, the one where you are ahead and still lose it, tends to handle the pressure better the second time round. Rangers, two points off top spot with derby momentum behind them, look like a club testing that theory in real time. ## From Final-Day Agony to Parkhead Victory Hearts arrived at the final round of fixtures last season sitting top of the table, needing results to go their way to be crowned champions. Instead they lost at Parkhead, and Celtic took the title on the final afternoon of the campaign. McInnes left for Ibrox not long after, taking that experience with him. He got the chance to settle an old score on Sunday. Rangers won at Parkhead thanks to a [Ryan Naderi](https://readrangers.com/squad/ryan-naderi/) goal, a result that made it back-to-back derby victories over Celtic this season following the earlier win in the Premier Sports Cup. The team news before kick-off had shown his intent, where [McInnes opts for Naderi and Kelsy](https://readrangers.com/2026/09/13/confirmed-rangers-team-lineup-celtic-ibrox/) in a side built to hurt Celtic on the break and in their faces, and the plan paid off in the biggest fixture of the season so far. ## Derby Momentum and Tactical Lessons Williamson knows Ibrox and Parkhead better than most former players still around the game, and he was in the stands as a guest of an old friend on derby day. > “I was at the game on Sunday. My big mate, big Gordon McClelland always invites me a lot to Parkhead for games when I am back in Scotland So I went along and, of course, the Celtic fans weren’t too happy. His verdict on the football itself was measured rather than triumphant, made clear in [Bobby Williamson’s interview with the Daily Record](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-reaping-benefits-painful-derek-37698998). > “I didn’t think it was a great game, to be honest. I didn’t think there was a lot of chances created. Probably the Rangers had a bit more of the chances, to be fair, and they got the goal. > > “I thought they played okay. They kept possession quite well at times, but I’ve not seen a lot of creativity for either team. Williamson is not shy about comparing eras either, and he feels the modern game has lost some of its directness under managers who prize patience over risk. > “Wide players seem to be short on demand and creative midfield players. As I said, there wasn’t really too much time to go. > > “I remember when I was playing, we used to get booed if we had four or five passes in our own half because the fans, that’s the whole thing. The fans want to see the ball going forward. > > “They want to see you putting pressure on the opposition, creating opportunities and trying to score goals. But now there is a lot passing it about at the back. He added plainly: “I don’t find that too exciting at all.” For a manager like McInnes, though, patience born from hard lessons might be exactly what this title race demands. ## The Premiership Title Race Twist Ahead Williamson has seen title races swing before, and he is wary of reading too much into a good September. “It’s very early doors,” he said, a reminder that both Rangers and Celtic still have a long way to travel before medals are handed out. He points to last season’s collapse as proof of how quickly a lead can vanish once the pressure builds, and he credits Celtic manager Martin O’Neill for having lived through it before. > “Look at last season, everybody thought Hearts were going to run away with it, but there were lots of twists and turns. > > “Rangers got back in it under Danny Rohl and then fell away again at the split. Celtic managed to get there and go over the line because of Martin’s experience and being over it before. > > “He’s been successful in Scotland and he knew what it takes.” For Williamson, that experience gap is exactly what McInnes now has to close, and Sunday’s derby double is early evidence that he is doing it. > “Maybe Derek didn’t have enough in him just now to get Hearts over the line. But I’m sure he’s learned and he will continue to learn quickly at Rangers. > > “The painful experience of last season will stand him in good stead for this campaign and will motivate him to want to go on and win the title with Rangers. Celtic still lead the Premiership by two points, and nobody at Ibrox is getting carried away this early in the season. But the derby wins have given the Derek McInnes Rangers project real momentum, built on a lesson learned the hard way last May.