A buzzing Del says the Manchester United great has already been in touch to back his decision
Delighted Derek McInnes has confirmed his Rangers return has been given the Sir Alex Ferguson seal of approval.
The former Ibrox midfielder is back at the club he grew up supporting after being headhunted from Hearts to replace Danny Rohl.
His appointment comes nine years after McInnes left Scottish football stunned by knocking back the chance of an emotional homecoming during Dave Kingâs reign as Gers chairman.
The then Aberdeen boss developed cold feet amid concerns about working alongside the controversial Johannesburg-based tycoon and was convinced to stay at Pittodrie following heart-to-heart talks with both Sir Alex and his other great mentor, the late Walter Smith.
But a buzzing Del says the Manchester United great has already been in touch to back his decision to quit Tynecastle and finally secure his dream ticket back to Ibrox.
McInnes said: âAye, I spoke to Sir Alex the other day actually, he was delighted.
âHe enjoyed coming to see our stuff at Hearts last season and he thought we had a special thing going.
âBut he understood why I'm here, and we had a good chat the other day. He sounded in good form. Obviously he's not been in the best of health, so I'm delighted to have that chat with him.â
McInnes admits he feared his chance to manage the club he grew up supporting had come and gone.
His name has been mentioned amongst the runners and riders for the top job at Ibrox on several occasions down the years since Kingâs approach in 2017.
However, itâs taken until now for Gersâ American chairman Andrew Cavenagh and CEO Jim Gillespie to finally pick up the phone and make an approach.
And this time, McInnes says it was an offer he couldnât refuse.
Asked if he feared heâd missed his chance to manage Rangers, the 54-year-old - who becomes just the 22nd man to occupy the managerâs office at the club - replied: âAye, of course.
âBut I always hoped that it would come round.
âI did say it would probably have to be a different set of circumstances, different owners and people with who there wasn't that sort of history from that time.
âI don't really want to go into why it didn't happen the first time around but I felt as though I arrived at the right decision then.
âThe two people that I spoke to at the time obviously were Walter and Sir Alex.
"And Sir Alex reminded me of the conversations we had back then when we spoke this week.
âBoth he and Walter were adamant that I made the right call. They supported me on that and advised me based on the circumstances then.
âBut I'm pretty sure Sir Alex and the gaffer would have advised me to go for it this time around.
âI do feel there's a confidence with the ownership here.
"Having Jim as well working alongside Andrew and the board, I feel that there's a real togetherness and a real idea of what we're trying to be off the pitch and on the pitch.
âItâs up to me to try and deliver the on-pitch stuff as best I can.
âBut I do think that the intention is to try and be a successful Rangers, because it's no enjoyable here if you're not winning.
âWeâve seen that in recent years, whether it's managers, players, board members, all the rest of it.
âWe all worked so hard at the job, so going back to the whole emotional thing and everything else.
âI feel the weight of responsibility, and it's a responsibility that I'm well aware of, that we need to do our job well here.â
Delighted Derek McInnes has confirmed his Rangers return has been given the Sir Alex Ferguson seal of approval.
The former Ibrox midfielder is back at the club he grew up supporting after being headhunted from Hearts to replace Danny Rohl.
His appointment comes nine years after McInnes left Scottish football stunned by knocking back the chance of an emotional homecoming during Dave Kingâs reign as Gers chairman.
The then Aberdeen boss developed cold feet amid concerns about working alongside the controversial Johannesburg-based tycoon and was convinced to stay at Pittodrie following heart-to-heart talks with both Sir Alex and his other great mentor, the late Walter Smith.
But a buzzing Del says the Manchester United great has already been in touch to back his decision to quit Tynecastle and finally secure his dream ticket back to Ibrox.
McInnes said: âAye, I spoke to Sir Alex the other day actually, he was delighted.
âHe enjoyed coming to see our stuff at Hearts last season and he thought we had a special thing going.
âBut he understood why I'm here, and we had a good chat the other day. He sounded in good form. Obviously he's not been in the best of health, so I'm delighted to have that chat with him.â
McInnes admits he feared his chance to manage the club he grew up supporting had come and gone.
His name has been mentioned amongst the runners and riders for the top job at Ibrox on several occasions down the years since Kingâs approach in 2017.
However, itâs taken until now for Gersâ American chairman Andrew Cavenagh and CEO Jim Gillespie to finally pick up the phone and make an approach.
And this time, McInnes says it was an offer he couldnât refuse.
Asked if he feared heâd missed his chance to manage Rangers, the 54-year-old - who becomes just the 22nd man to occupy the managerâs office at the club - replied: âAye, of course.
âBut I always hoped that it would come round.
âI did say it would probably have to be a different set of circumstances, different owners and people with who there wasn't that sort of history from that time.
âI don't really want to go into why it didn't happen the first time around but I felt as though I arrived at the right decision then.
âThe two people that I spoke to at the time obviously were Walter and Sir Alex.
"And Sir Alex reminded me of the conversations we had back then when we spoke this week.
âBoth he and Walter were adamant that I made the right call. They supported me on that and advised me based on the circumstances then.
âBut I'm pretty sure Sir Alex and the gaffer would have advised me to go for it this time around.
âI do feel there's a confidence with the ownership here.
"Having Jim as well working alongside Andrew and the board, I feel that there's a real togetherness and a real idea of what we're trying to be off the pitch and on the pitch.
âItâs up to me to try and deliver the on-pitch stuff as best I can.
âBut I do think that the intention is to try and be a successful Rangers, because it's no enjoyable here if you're not winning.
âWeâve seen that in recent years, whether it's managers, players, board members, all the rest of it.
âWe all worked so hard at the job, so going back to the whole emotional thing and everything else.
âI feel the weight of responsibility, and it's a responsibility that I'm well aware of, that we need to do our job well here.â
