Sports

Derek McInnes backs Lawrence Shankland for ‘big influence’ at Rangers

Published

2 hours ago

August 19, 2026

Lawrence Shankland is “too good not to score regularly” and is sure to have a “big influence” at Rangers whether or not he starts games, insists manager Derek McInnes.

Shankland has scored once in five outings since his move to Ibrox and the captain was used as a substitute on Sunday as Rangers beat St Mirren 5-1 for their first win of the season.

The 31-year-old Scotland striker hit 22 goals for Hearts last term working under McInnes.

“When you have a player like Lawrence, who knows his way around the penalty box and how to score goals, I do not worry too much about it,” said McInnes.

“He is too good not to score regularly. He has consistently shown that over a period of time in the Premiership.

“Sometimes people can over emphasise these things. For me, it is a case of letting him play his natural game.

“The best strikers have that instinctive side to their game, where everything looks natural and seamless. I have no doubt he will do well here.”

McInnes chose to start with Ryan Naderi in the Premier Sports Cup victory over St Mirren and the German opened the scoring, while Nico Raskin was skipper.

“I said that when I spoke to Lawrence,” added McInnes. “Being captain does not guarantee anything, and he accepted that. He is not going to stamp his feet about it. Having worked with Lawrence before, he is a brilliant captain and a brilliant boy.

“You want your captain to have a big influence on and off the pitch, and I believe Lawrence will have that.”

Shankland is one of 11 new signings at Rangers and the search is on for another centre forward since Youssef Chermiti is a long-term absentee.

“The priority is at the top end of the pitch,” said McInnes. “Number nines are normally more difficult ones to do, and it wasn’t an area we were looking at before Youseff’s injury.

“We’re hoping we can land on the one that we want and hopefully we can bring them here quickly.”

Sports

Irish Premiership: Cliftonville ‘not a plaything for TIG’ – Conor Devine

Published

4 minutes ago

August 19, 2026

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TIG’s takeover has been a far from a smooth journey and has taken over two years with their first attempt halted when club members stopped talks before the group took their offer off the table in January.

However, in June, the members authorised for the club’s management committee to enter formal negotiations with TIG and Monday’s eventual vote passed with 81% in favour.

“If you stand back and look at this, Cliftonville is a club that is held dearly by so many people,” he added.

“It was owned and controlled by the membership, so obviously, members are going to be reluctant to let it go effectively, especially to a private company. I understand all of the complexities around that.

“If you want to be open and honest about it, it just goes to show how much this club means to people. I just hope when it is complete, we can move together stronger as a team.”

Devine added that the Canadian consortium will be investing long-term and that it is a “passion project” for the group.

“This is a long-term play, this is not a five, six or a seven-year thing,” said Devine.

“One of the first things the guys said to me when we looked at this was that they are 25-year people, they are long-term. That is very unusual.

“These guys have spoken about ROIs [return on investment] or return in money; this is a passion project and an impact investment into the local area.”

Sports

England's two-man show – Tongue and Robinson take five wickets each

Published

11 minutes ago

August 19, 2026

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Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue have a day to remember as they both take five-wicket hauls, as England bowl Pakistan out for 171 on day one of the first Test at Headingley.

Sports

Harry Kane: England striker plays down returning to Premier League in future to break Alan Shearer record

Published

17 minutes ago

August 19, 2026

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Harry Kane says “the itch isn’t there as much anymore” to one day return to England from Germany and try and break the all-time scoring record in the Premier League.

The striker left Tottenham to join Bayern Munich in 2023 having scored 213 goals in the English top flight, 47 goals short of Alan Shearer’s tally of 260.

Kane has been in sensational form for club and country since moving to Munich, and last season hit a total of 73 goals.

He has entered the final 12 months of the four-year deal he signed after his £86.4m move from Spurs three years ago, but is set to begin discussing a new contract at Bayern.

After receiving the Golden Shoe for finishing top scorer in the Bundesliga on Wednesday, the England captain stressed how settled he feels at Bayern.

Kane said: “When I first left, for sure it was something I thought – I would definitely be coming back. That itch isn’t there as much anymore.

“I am extremely happy here in Munich, it opened my eyes to a totally different world of football outside of England and it has made me appreciate European football even more.

“I just think the team we have here and the manager, my family is really settled here, it is just about being in the best place possible.

“Never say never, but for now I am concentrating on Bayern Munich and we will see what the future holds.”