Derek McInnes has made a rather extraordinary admission following Rangers’ League Cup semi final victory over Aberdeen. The Ibrox manager openly acknowledged that his side improved when Dan Neil entered the action. However, that raises an obvious question about the original selection. Why did McInnes overlook natural midfielders to accommodate James Penrice? The latest Derek McInnes Rangers selection controversy makes absolutely no sense.

McInnes Admits Rangers Improved

Speaking after the Hampden victory, McInnes praised Neil’s contribution.

“He got to the pace of the game brilliantly and I thought we were better, actually, when Dan came on.”

He continued:

“When the game needed a bit of calmness, he normally makes those right decisions, as he did for his small part in the winning goal.”

So there we have it. McInnes himself admits Rangers improved when Neil arrived.

However, the real issue isn’t necessarily why Neil didn’t start. Rather, why did McInnes select a left back in central midfield?

Three Midfielders Overlooked

Rangers had Dan Neil, Vanja Dragojević and Tochi Chukwuani available for selection. All three possess natural experience in central midfield.

Yet McInnes inexplicably chose James Penrice to partner Nico Raskin.

Penrice has enjoyed an excellent season at Ibrox. Indeed, his performances have made him one of Rangers’ most reliable players.

However, he’s a left back. He offers excellent attacking support, overlaps and delivery from wide areas.

Therefore, shoehorning him into central midfield simply to accommodate him makes little sense.

Furthermore, Rangers struggled to establish the necessary balance against Aberdeen. Penrice eventually moved wider and the team subsequently looked more comfortable.

Why Experiment at Hampden?

This latest Derek McInnes Rangers selection decision follows several questionable tactical changes.

Previously, Rangers enjoyed seven consecutive victories with a functioning system. However, McInnes began altering that successful formula against Dundee.

Consequently, Rangers dropped points. He subsequently reverted against St Johnstone and secured a comfortable victory.

Nevertheless, further changes against Hearts produced another disappointing draw.

Now, at Hampden, McInnes experimented again.

Admittedly, Rangers deserved credit for their persistence against Aberdeen. However, 25 shots and only five on target hardly represented clinical attacking football.

Eventually, Naderi delivered the crucial winner.

McInnes Creates His Own Problems

The Derek McInnes Rangers selection issue becomes particularly baffling when the manager himself acknowledges the improvement.

Neil provided composure, control and intelligent decision making. Moreover, McInnes specifically praised those qualities afterwards.

So why overlook three natural central midfielders in the first place?

Nobody questions Penrice’s quality. Indeed, his outstanding Rangers performances deserve enormous praise.

But playing footballers outside their natural positions creates unnecessary complications.

Ultimately, Rangers reached the League Cup final and that matters enormously. Nevertheless, winning doesn’t automatically justify every managerial decision.

McInnes deserves credit for securing another Hampden appearance. However, he must also explain these increasingly strange selections.

After all, Rangers shouldn’t need their manager to correct problems he created himself.