Derek McInnes believes Kilmarnock will on Wednesday night face a vastly-improved Rangers team to the one who lost at Rugby Park on the opening day of the cinch Premiership season.
A 1-0 win for the Ayrshire side on August 5 heaped immediate pressure on then Gers boss Michael Beale, who lasted only until October when he was replaced by Philippe Clement with the Light Blues trailing Celtic by seven points at the top of the table.
The Belgian boss has turned Rangers’ fortunes around, bringing the Viaplay Cup to Ibrox and guiding the Govan side to the last 16 of the Europa League where they will play Portuguese side Benfica, as well as overtaking their Old Firm rivals by two points in the league.
Killie themselves are in good form, with their only defeat in the last 14 games coming at Ibrox on January 2, but manager McInnes is bracing himself for a night of “bedlam” when the Ibrox men visit for the second time this season.
He said: “The biggest compliment I can give the current manager is that even with a lot of the players that played that day, there’s far more robustness about Rangers, there is a strength about them, they certainly have the added confidence that winning gives you.
“When maybe the performance that day was a wee bit unsure, there is a certainty about them now. You know what you’re going to get.
“I actually like the way he plays, there is a directness, there is a simplicity, an organisation, you see the detail in their work in and out of possession.
“They don’t think they are anything they are not. They play forward, they ask the question, put balls in the box, take shots on from distance. They work you and you need to be able to stand up to that.
“We’re expecting a tough game but equally, I expect Rangers to get a tough game from us, if we can be anything like ourselves.
“We feel there is a performance in us that can upset Rangers and cause Rangers problems.”
Rangers, who have won nine in a row, scored in the second minute of their commanding 5-0 win over Hearts at Ibrox at the weekend and McInnes expects the start on Wednesday night to be important.
The former Gers midfielder said: “It will be bedlam here, there will be a brilliant atmosphere.
“It is a type of game players want to be involved in and that focuses you, the game demands that and concentration.
“When you are playing against players who want to start quick and come here and flex their muscles, you have to be ready to fight fire with fire and we want to make sure that we try to own that pitch, impose ourselves on the game, like we do any home game.
“Some games are easy to do that, tomorrow night will be a challenge against a strong Rangers team but we have to have the belief going on to the pitch that we are capable of getting a result.
“I know we have the performance in us to win the game and we have to do so much right to make sure that is the case.”
'Now we think about what's next' – Messi switches focus to MLS Cup
Lionel Messi set his sights on MLS Cup success after leading Inter Miami to the Supporters' Shield.
Messi scored twice as Miami beat the Columbus Crew 3-2 on Wednesday and secured the Supporters' Shield for the first time in their history.
The regular-season points record in MLS is also on the cards for Miami, though they must win their remaining two games before the playoffs in order to surpass the tally of 73 set by the New England Revolution in 2021.
And Messi is now focused on the next task at hand.
"We suffered until the end," Messi told MLS Season Pass. "It shows what this team is about."
In quotes reported by BBC Sport, Messi said: "The first objective has been achieved and now we have to think about what's next.
"The first round is three games but then it's one game and anything can happen. But we have the great advantage of playing all the games at home, which is what we were looking for. We are very strong at home."
Messi's sentiment was echoed by Miami coach Gerardo Martino.
He said: "We reached the objective.
"We have good moments in the game, suffering moments in the game, and it happens to everybody to be able to achieve something.
“Now we can say, with our results and our game, we’re able to think that we've gotten to a higher level. I am not one of these people that strictly goes by results, that chases results. We are in a construction period and a building period, something similar.
"We are in the process of creating that thing, a franchise that thinks of more and that gets to win more than lose. And this is very essential, this is very important, that we've changed, and done so in a very short time. With today, we've got 20 wins in the league, and at other times we couldn't have thought of that. To change that dynamic for us is very important."
Simeone takes positives but Oblak slams 'pitiful' Atletico performance
Jan Oblak hit out at a "pitiful" performance from Atletico Madrid after their 4-0 loss to Benfica in the Champions League.
Benfica recorded their joint-biggest victory in a Champions League home match (alongside 5-1 vs Club Brugge in March 2023), as Atletico suffered their heaviest ever defeat to Portuguese opposition in the competition.
Atletico had only four shots, failing to get any of them on target, and mustered just 0.24 expected goals (xG).
Benfica, on the other hand, had 19 shots and accumulated 4.46 xG.
While Diego Simeone believed there were positives to take, Oblak, who made six saves to keep the scoreline from getting even more humiliating, was far more scathing of Atletico's display in Lisbon.
"It's pitiful to lose like this, it's not a good image to give and there's not much more to say. We weren't good today, to say the least," Oblak told Movistar Plus.
"Sometimes games like this happen, but we can't afford it because we gave a woeful impression today. I don't have a single positive thing I can say today.
"We didn't show up and there's not much more to say. Nobody is saved from what happened today, we have to accept it and move forward."
Simone accepted Atletico "played badly", but did feel it was not all doom and gloom.
"I always like to think positively and I think it's a good opportunity to keep improving," Simeone told Movistar Plus.
"We had been doing a very good job, today we didn't play the game we expected, but we have to keep going.
"We played badly. We have to accept that. We didn't play well, the substitutions didn't give us the spark that they gave us at other times. We played badly, they were better and we have to accept that.
"There was no lack of tension, attitude or desire to run, we just played badly and when you play badly you are exposed to losses like this.
"We had been doing a very good job and today the game that you don't want to see appeared.
"Some nights are not good and we have to accept them and try to learn from what we had to go through today and recover energy for Sunday's LaLiga game [at Real Sociedad]."
Columbus Crew 2-3 Inter Miami: Messi, Suarez seal Supporters' Shield success
Lionel Messi scored twice and Luis Suarez got the winner as Inter Miami beat 10-man Columbus Crew 3-2 to claim the Supporters' Shield in MLS.
After three straight draws, Miami needed a victory to guarantee they got their hands on the shield, which is awarded to MLS' best team in the regular season, and they got over the line in frantic fashion on Wednesday.
Miami's goals came between the 45th and 48th minute, with Messi, who had not recorded a direct goal contribution in any of his last three away appearances, netting the opening two.
Having already teed up a Diego Gomez goal that was disallowed, Messi engineered space in the box to drill home and break the deadlock, before doubling his tally five minutes later with a sensational free-kick.
Diego Rossi dragged the Crew back into it straight after the restart, but parity lasted just two minutes as Suarez capitalised on an error from Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.
Cucho Hernandez, who had a goal ruled out for offside in the first half, converted a penalty to reduce the arrears yet again, only for the Crew to go down to 10 when Rudy Camacho picked up two bookings in the space of four minutes.
There was to be more drama, though, as Miami defender Ian Fray was judged to have handled in the area, yet this time, Drake Callender guessed correctly to deny Hernandez and ensure victory for Miami.
Data Debrief: Record points total within reach
That is Miami's second piece of silverware in the bag, after their Leagues Cup triumph last year, and the Herons' focus will now switch to an MLS record.
If they win their remaining two games before the postseason, against Toronto FC and New England Revolution, Miami will set the MLS regular-season points record, overtaking the tally of 73 set by the Revolution in 2021.
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