While Ramsay-Peaty has not found his best form in Glasgow and looks unlikely to touch his best times again, it would be wrong to say he has lost his pace altogether.

His time in the 100m breaststroke at the British Championships in April – 58.97 seconds – would have won Commonwealth gold.

His struggles have also come amid issues away from the pool.

He took a break from the sport in 2023 after issues with his mental health, and this week spoke of the “toll” external issues have taken.

When he married Holly Ramsay last year his parents were not present. He has had two different coaches since his long-time mentor Mel Marshall left for a job in Australia after the 2024 Olympics.

“Coming into the meet, he was vocal saying his priorities have changed, that winning isn’t the most important thing in his life,” Murdoch said.

“His young family will clearly be his priority, but the expectations of how the meet was going to go certainly haven’t met the reality.

“In his heart of hearts did he really mean the swimming isn’t the priority for him?

“I don’t think that to be the case. I know Adam better than that. He will always want to fight and be the best he can be.”

Halliday says McInnes “knows the pressure cooker he’s stepping into”. It will be like nothing he has experienced in the dugout previously.

Expectation may be high at Aberdeen and Hearts but the relentless need to win at the Old Firm is on another level.

As a former Rangers player who was brought up supporting the club, he will be aware of that, although he will still have to convince some fans that he has what it takes to drive the side back to consistently winning major honours.

An unknown quantity in Europe, having only managed in qualifiers, he will also have to navigate two ties to reach the Europa League proper, where Rangers have excelled in recent years.

But it is domestic pressure that his predecessors who have come post-Gerrard have shown signs of struggling with, whether that has meant dragging the team into title fights and falling at the final hurdle or failing to mount a serious challenge.

On other occasions, the reality has been that they have been competing with a Celtic side boasting superior spending power and quality.

Following the takeover of the club by a US-based consortium, who now face a potentially defining season, the financial argument has quietened somewhat after a supposed £40m spend last season.

Despite the big backing, Martin immediately put himself on the back foot with an opening-day draw at Motherwell last August.

Twelve months earlier, Philippe Clement did likewise in the first match of his first full season in charge, drawing at Hearts. The year before that, Michael Beale lost at Kilmarnock.

A positive start in Friday’s Premiership curtain-raiser at Dundee United is crucial for McInnes as excuses start to run dry.

Rangers play six league games before travelling to Celtic in the campaign’s first Old Firm encounter. Halliday believes Rangers have to be flawless in each of them.

“There have been too many cases in the past where Rangers have gone into the first Old Firm of the season feeling they have to win,” he adds.

“It’s imperative they win every game in the lead up to it this year.”

Skip to content