McInnes Urges Rangers Fans to Back Team Against Celtic

Rangers manager Derek McInnes has called on supporters to back his players rather than criticise them when Celtic visit Ibrox on Sunday in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final, the first Old Firm meeting of the season. With no Celtic fans in attendance, around 50,000 home supporters are expected, and McInnes, who will take charge of the fixture for the first time as a manager, wants the crowd to become a decisive factor. "Be behind the players, support them, have their backs, not be on their backs and really make it as tough for Celtic as possible," McInnes said. He acknowledged that Rangers will not control the match throughout, saying both sides will have spells and that Celtic are too good a team not to enjoy periods of dominance. His plea follows visible frustration from the stands during Wednesday's 1-0 win over St Mirren at Ibrox, when substitute Bojan Miovski struck in stoppage time to secure a fourth consecutive victory. McInnes said the late winner demonstrated the value of perseverance and asked fans to show trust and belief in the team.