Derek McInnes believes Rangers “aren’t as bad as people think” despite his winless start to life at Ibrox.

McInnes suffered a damaging home debut as Rangers boss with a 2-1 Scottish Premiership defeat to Hibernian, with star striker Youssef Chermiti carried off the pitch on a stretcher.

With Celtic and St Mirren both on six points from two Premiership games, Rangers are five points behind and already chasing, with McInnes looking for his first win after three matches in the Ibrox hot seat.

“We’re not as bad as some people will be saying at the minute,” McInnes told Sky Sports.

“And I think it’s important that we just batten down the hatches, stay strong, stay together.

“We try, as a club, to come out of this window strong and we will.

“At the minute, we’re trying to manage the situation. Some players are not quite as fit but we need to get them playing to get them fit.

“Obviously, Youssef’s injury is far from ideal today but we’re trying to integrate and try to get a team who can find a kind of rhythm and a connection that allows us to win games while we’re trying to do that.

“We’re not at the start we wanted but we still plan to get the finish and the outcome that we want and we’ll work towards that.”

Hibs took the lead in the 11th minute with a Josh Campbell penalty after VAR had flagged up Vanja Dragojevic, making his first Gers start after signing from Partizan Belgrade, had fouled visiting defender Jason Kerr in the area. It was the away team’s first shot of the game.

“I think it was a wrong decision that made us go behind in the first place,” added McInnes.

“I thought there was a lot of decent stuff in the first half but it was all a bit slow and a bit pedestrian at times.

“Obviously, Hibs are a team who came off it, their shape that they played allowed us to play in front of them at some times and we had to fight hard for the space.

“I still thought we had some good moments. Obviously, there’s a blow to Youssef going off which is far from ideal, particularly for him and us and there’s a little adjustment there.

“I do think the penalty came out of the blue really. I hadn’t seen it at the time and I’ve seen it since and I don’t think it’s a penalty kick.

“I don’t think the referee should be brought over.

“So, we’ve got it all to do and obviously, we’ve put ourselves in a position to try and dig ourselves out of it.

“I thought we were the team that was always looking more likely to score. In the last part of the game, the last 25 minutes or so, I thought the subs helped.

“We were by far the dominant team. I thought we were the better team and sometimes, in fact, we don’t always get what we deserve but nobody will tell me any differently.

“We were the better team. We weren’t great but we were better than Hibs and I think it was harsh on my players to be on the losing side.

“But we keep going. I was delighted with the effort of the players, delighted with how they kept going to try and get a win. That’s how we want to play and I didn’t see that second goal coming.

“I do think both goals are really harsh on us. As I say, the penalty, slight deflection, it takes it past Ivor for their winning goal and sometimes it’s like that and you just need to dig deep and go again.

“A tough way to lose it.”

‘Chermiti left in a boot and brace’

There was more woe before the break for McInnes when Chermiti, subject to a failed bid by Galatasaray for a reported club record fee of £22m, had to go off after picking up an injury.

It is understood Ibrox chiefs want to keep the 22-year-old striker at the club this summer, and value him higher than the club-record fee they received for Calvin Bassey, who joined Ajax for an initial £19.6m in 2023.

Chermiti – who moved to Glasgow last summer in a deal worth up to £10m – scored 15 goals and provided five assists across all competitions last season.

McInnes said: “I think the fact that the club rejected such a big number would suggest how important he is to us, so we’re delighted from that side of it.

“He’ll get a scan tomorrow. He’ll leave here today in a boot and a brace. It’s a knee injury of some sort but I think it would be silly to speculate anything until we get the scan results tomorrow.

“Hopefully he’s been lucky because we could certainly do a bit of that.

“Obviously he’s a big part for us going forward and hopefully we get a positive scan.”

Ben Stokes made a quickfire 43 to help Durham to a 20-run victory over Essex in their One-Day Cup Group B match at Darlington despite the absence of England Test opener Emilio Gay.

In a match reduced to 38 overs a side by early morning rain, Durham were put in to bat by Essex and fell to 30-3.

But former England captain Stokes hit 43 off 27 balls, hitting five fours and two sixes, before Colin Ackermann added an unbeaten 80 that helped them post 229-5.

Essex opener Noah Thain made 76 but the visitors lost the rest of their top order cheaply, and were bowled out for 209.

Gay sat out the match as a precaution after retiring hurt in Friday’s loss to Middlesex.

Elsewhere, Jake Libby’s fourth century in as many One-Day Cup outings was not enough for Worcestershire as Glamorgan snatched a two-wicket victory off the last ball at Cardiff.

Libby extended his outstanding run as the Worcestershire skipper made 105 off 114 balls in his side’s 278-9.

Glamorgan were quickly reduced to 46-3 in reply but Callum Rhys Nicholls (70) and Jack Hope-Bell (58) reversed the trend and captain Andy Gorvin found the boundary from the last ball of the game to snatch the win.

Group B leaders Middlesex eased to an 87-run win over Derbyshire on the back of a 156-run third-wicket partnership between Max Holden (65) and Ben Geddes (109).

Hampshire openers Ali Orr (105) and Ben Mayes (109) put on 225 for the first wicket in their 51-run win over Sussex.

A superb unbeaten 133 from Daniel Bell-Drummond powered Kent to a six-wicket win over Group A leaders Leicestershire to keep their hopes of progress alive.

Nottinghamshire could not take advantage of Leicestershire’s loss as Gloucestershire beat them by four wickets with five balls remaining at Cheltenham despite captain Haseeb Hameed’s 85.

Luke Procter also made 85 as Northamptonshire secured a seven-wicket victory over Somerset at Wantage Road while Warwickshire secured a two-wicket win over Lancashire.

Brooks Koepka labelled missing the FedExCup Playoffs “pathetic” in a brutally honest assessment of his game after a low finish at the Wyndham Championship.

The five-time major champion, back on the PGA Tour after a four-year hiatus with LIV Golf, posted a final-round 70 at Sedgefield Country Club on Sunday.

Koepka was tied for 70th when his round finished, way short of the fourth-place finish he needed to secure qualification for next week’s St Jude Championship.

“I struck the ball great,” Koepka explained. “It’s just all on the greens. I don’t know what the deal is.

“Got zero confidence, can’t putt. I don’t know. There’s going to be a lot of changes here soon.”

Asked to sum up his disappointment at missing the playoffs, Koepka didn’t hold back, adding: “Pretty disappointed. I think it’s pretty pathetic that I can’t get through.

“Zero top-10s basically in two years. To be in the prime of my career and be as good as I think I am, I think that’s very pathetic, disappointing.

“I just need to go home and completely re-evaluate everything.”

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Koepka, 36, has not made a PGA Tour post-season appearance since 2021, having featured every year, except 2020 when he was injured, dating back to 2015.

The American has secured just one top-10 finish in the 16 tournaments he has played since returning to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf.

Watch the PGA Tour’s FedEx Playoffs St Jude Championship live on Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 7pm on Thursday. Get Sky Sports or stream golf with no contract through NOW.