'Massive' - What Rangers' win vs Celtic means for Derek McInnes' future

Derek McInnes has eased all pressure on his position at Rangers after a huge victory in his first Old Firm derby as the manager.

Rangers have progressed into the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup after an emphatic 3-0 win against Celtic at Ibrox despite what proved to be a slow start to the season.

The club's results in Europe at the start of the year, combined by some frustrating league performances, had led to questions being asked over the manager's position.

However, former Man United coach Mick Brown told Football Insider that McInnes' position is now "guaranteed" with supporters won over following the "massive" victory.

Any issues at the start of the season can now be forgotten about, with their focus now firmly on competing domestically, which the boss himself insisted must be their target.

While there will be some lingering frustrations about their European campaign, five league wins in a row and a 3-0 drubbing of Celtic have restored the good feeling at Ibrox.

How important is the Celtic game for Derek McInnes?

Brown told Football Insider on 13 September that McInnes has "saved his job" after the win against Celtic, with results in the Old Firm derby crucial to his position as manager.

Martin O'Neill's side will have their shot at revenge at Parkhead in just one week's time on 20 September, but a huge win at Ibrox is set to do wonders for McInnes' tenure.

Rangers have also now moved one step closer to winning silverware, and will face Aberdeen in the semi-final, with their positive progress becoming clear.

"That win has done wonders for Derek McInnes' position at Rangers," Brown told Football Insider.

"It just goes to show that people can quickly forget the bad results, there was a lot of negativity around Rangers in the transfer window and after they were knocked out of Europe.

"But he stuck with it, he battled away at it, and now they've won five games in a row and they've beaten Celtic 3-0 at Ibrox.

"All of that negativity and the doubts about the manager can be cast aside, because it's clear

"After a big win like that, his position is pretty much guarunteed, and now they will be hoping to build on that and put together a winning run and eventually land some silverware.

"Obviously there's a lot that has to happen between now and then, and things can change quickly in football as we've seen, but for now that result is going to be massive."

Why was McInnes under pressure at Rangers?

Rangers' frustrations in recent years have led to growing impatience around the club, especially with regard to the managerial position and the demands in place.

After a third-placed finish last time out under Danny Rohl, clear improvements were needed, and a slow start under McInnes saw those frustrations land at his feet.

As a result, Football Insider revealed on 6 September that McInnes would have four "huge games" with regard to his position as he risked losing the backing of the fans.

Since then, Rangers have won the first three of those games against Motherwell, St Mirren and Celtic, and the boss has eased the pressure on his position.

Next week's visit to Parkhead could be key yet again, but should Rangers snatch all three points from their rivals, the outlook of their season could change massively.