Rangers Reach League Cup Final: Derek McInnes Highlights 'Important Opportunity'

After Rangers reached the Scottish League Cup final, manager Derek McInnes said the competition offers his side "an important opportunity".

Ryan Naderi scored the only goal as the Glasgow club beat Aberdeen 1-0 in a semi-final at Hampden Park in which Rangers were the dominant side. Rangers fired 25 shots in search of the breakthrough throughout the match and finally got the moment they had been waiting for in the 83rd minute, when Naderi pounced on the ball after a James Penrice effort and found the net.

With Rangers set to face either Hearts or Hibernian in the final, McInnes believes that winning silverware in the early months of his tenure at Ibrox would provide significant momentum.

Stressing that semi-finals are never easy, the experienced manager said after the match:

"Our play was far too slow in the first half; we needed to move the ball around much more quickly. Having 25 shots and only 5 on target is a concern. Fortunately, Ryan [Naderi] read the situation well and managed to score the crucial goal we needed.

In the second half we were much more dominant than in the first. I always felt the goal was coming, but on the other hand I was worried about leaving ourselves exposed in defensive transitions. Our team has the potential to score at any moment, but we shouldn't be so vulnerable in transition. We've invested heavily in our attacking line, but sometimes you need more experienced players on the pitch. We were a bit hasty with our crossing decisions and didn't make the most of our attacking moves.

Still, the one goal we got was enough for us. Now we have a really important opportunity in front of us to win a trophy and build morale and confidence."