McInnes demands sharper finishing after Rangers secure League Cup final place

Derek McInnes has called on Rangers to improve their finishing and decision-making despite securing a place in the League Cup final with a 1-0 victory over Aberdeen at Hampden Park. According to BBC Sport Scotland, the manager welcomed the result but said his team needed stronger performances as well as continued wins before the December final.

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Ryan Naderi scored from close range in the 83rd minute to settle the semi-final, extending Rangers' unbeaten sequence to 11 matches. The victory leaves McInnes one match away from his first major trophy as Rangers manager, with either Hearts or Hibernian to provide the opposition. He has previously managed both Hearts and Aberdeen, as well as Kilmarnock.

The concern for McInnes was how little Rangers had made of their control before the breakthrough. BBC Sport Scotland reported that they had 74% possession and had produced 25 attempts, with only five on target before Naderi scored. Speaking to BBC Scotland, McInnes linked that lack of accuracy to poor decisions and said the pattern had appeared regularly in his team's matches. He stressed a shared responsibility to improve rather than treating qualification alone as sufficient.

At the other end, Rangers recorded a seventh clean sheet during their unbeaten run. Defender Olwethu Makhanya has been a consistent presence at centre-back, according to the BBC report. Against Aberdeen, another shutout kept Rangers in position to win through a single late goal despite their difficulties turning pressure into a decisive advantage earlier in the match.

Naderi's winner took his goal tally to eight. The forward, who arrived from Germany's third tier in February, had also scored in Rangers' 1-0 league victory at Celtic Park. His contribution has come with Lawrence Shankland and Youssef Chermiti absent. McInnes said Rangers needed to supply him more frequently in the penalty area and improve the quality of that service to make better use of his strengths.

For McInnes, reaching Hampden finals must become a regular expectation rather than an occasional achievement. He said qualification gave supporters something to anticipate and helped maintain a positive atmosphere around the club. However, his assessment after this victory remained that Rangers had further room to improve, with a trophy opportunity secured but the final still to be won.