Rangers boss Derek McInnes praised his players for going top of the league — and insisted they had to overcome mental fatigue in their victory over Kilmarnock.
Two goals from Ryan Naderi and one from Kevin Kelsy were enough to secure a 3-1 win at Ibrox and send Rangers a point clear of Celtic at the top of the table.
The Ibrox men scored all three of their goals during a dominant display in the first half before suffering a major drop-off after half-time.
On the back of a three-week lay-off, McInnes reaffirmed his belief that the recent international break was far too long.
Rangers had 13 players away on international duty, eight of whom were selected by McInnes in the starting XI for the game against bottom-of-the-table Killie despite some only reporting back to training on Thursday.
McInnes believes fatigue played a major role in what he called a ‘disjointed’ performance and admitted that, in hindsight, he may have freshened up the team more rather than sticking with the same XI that won at Celtic Park three weeks ago.
Rangers boss Derek McInnes was generally pleased with his side’s 3-1 win over Kilmarnock
Kevin Kelsy fires home the second goal for Rangers
‘I’m really pleased we’ve won the game,’ said McInnes, whose side have now won seven straight matches to go one point clear of a Celtic team who play Motherwell at Fir Park this afternoon.
‘First and foremost, our job here is to win games of football. The fact that we’ve gone top of the league, we shouldn’t lose sight of that.
‘We look like a team that deserves to be top of the league at the moment. Getting seven wins in a row give us a lot of positives, but the performance was disjointed at times.
‘I was really pleased with how clinical we were in the first half. I think we put the ball in the box, we scored goals, we just didn’t do it enough for whatever reason.
‘We won the game and we’ve gone top of the league. We should have 50,000 fans here absolutely bouncing at the end of the game. But the second half was far from what it needed to be.’
Expanding on the reasons for his flatness in the face of victory, McInnes continued: ‘It’s my job to assess the 90 minutes as a whole. Maybe a combination of not putting enough freshness into the team.
‘I was reluctant to change it too much. I already had to change Dujon (Sterling) at half-time, he was feeling a bit under the weather. He’s had a wee bit of tonsillitis the last few days.
‘So, I was reluctant to make too many changes. We couldn’t train properly during the international break due to simply not having the numbers.
‘With the players coming back in dribs and drabs over the past few days, I was convinced, seduced maybe, that everything was fine and good to go. But I actually think that, in hindsight, there was maybe a lot of mental fatigue there in the performance.
‘Listen, we got the job done. I’m sitting here and it almost sounds like we’ve lost the game. We won and we are top of the league. But the break has been far too long. Whoever came up with this idea, I think it’s such a long time for your players to be away.
’We pay their wages, we look after our players, and for them to be away for nearly three weeks is too long. We got the job done and credit the players for digging deep and doing exactly that, getting the three points.’
Ryan Naderi headed home the opener at Ibrox in the 3-1 Rangers’ 3-1 victory
After scoring the winner at Celtic Park three weeks ago, Naderi continued his fine run of form with two goals as Rangers dominated the first half.
The big striker also made his international debut for the Czech Republic against England at Wembley during the international break.
McInnes sees no reason why Naderi’s purple patch can’t continue as he continues to form a stronger partnership with Kelsy up front.
‘I’m pleased for Ryan (Naderi) to pick up where he’s left off,’ added the Ibrox boss. ‘I’m pleased for Kevin to get his goal. But we have to be honest, we look like a team that hasn’t been together for the last three weeks.
‘But full credit to Ryan. He’s always such an honest boy, he’s willing to put defenders under pressure. I’ve always felt as a striker that if the ball goes in the box, he’ll score his goals.
‘He’s not the type of striker that creates a lot for himself, so he needs that service. If we put the ball in the box, as we did in the first half, then he looks a threat.
‘But he’s had such a good few weeks, particularly managing to get his caps, playing Spain and England, a brilliant opportunity for him. Everybody’s so pleased for him.’
Kilmarnock boss Neil McCann lamented the loss of cheap goals during the first half as the visitors effectively handed Rangers a three-goal headstart.
Killie were much improved after the break and created multiple good chances. They eventually pulled a goal back through Nicky Clescenco but McCann insisted he was in no mood for a pat on the back.
‘We gifted Rangers three goals,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a real problem with the second one — I think it’s a handball.
‘I don’t want us to be a team who come here and just get a pat on the back for having a go in the second half. It’s not good enough to just win the second half. We need to start winning games of football and I believe we will.’
