Derek McInnes named as obvious Scotland choice despite Rangers reality

Derek McInnes is thought of as an obvious choice for the vacant Scotland manager role despite his appointment at Rangers.

Steve Clarke recently stepped down from his post as boss of the Tartan Army after leading his nation straight back home from the World Cup in awfully quick time.

Scotland were sent crashing out of the tournament after finishing third with just three points and one goal to their name.

The SFA will soon start to narrow down their candidates to replace Clarke, as some believe McInnes should be on the list of potential successors, despite the obvious hurdle of him having just joined Rangers.

The 49ers moved quickly to appoint the former Hearts boss earlier this summer, after it was made clear that Danny Rohl wanted to leave Ibrox for

Now, the timing behind Andrew Cavenagh and Co.'s decision for Rangers has been made to look even better, with Scotland set to appoint a new man in the hot seat soon.

Derek McInnes in 'no-brainer' Scotland claim despite the reality

Rangers have already brought McInnes several new faces since his appointment, with Ivor Pandur the latest arrival.

The 54-year-old has reunited with Lawrence Shankland at Ibrox, though the striker was initially a signing for Rohl.

But it just goes to show that you can't predict everything in football.

Speaking on Open Goal, former Scottish Premiership boss Ian McCall was discussing with Simon Ferry about Scotland and their next move after Clarke's resignation.

Ferry asked: "Why can't interviewing start as soon as the World Cup finishes and take a month to get it done?"

McCall replied: "I just think they'll need to spread the net, because there's no candidates. [David] Moyes is a no-brainer, McInnes is a no-brainer, but they've got no chance of getting them."

Rangers have tweaked their recent approach with hiring head coaches, and have allowed McInnes to have the status of being the manager.

The Scot will, and has already been involved in day-to-day conversations at the club, and may often get the final decision in some scenarios.

McInnes is set to stay at Ibrox for the next three years, and the reality is that he won't be going anywhere anytime soon, and that's thanks to the 49ers moving quickly after Rohl's departure.

But that's not to say he wouldn't be open to taking up the Scotland job in the future.

What McInnes has previously said about the Scotland gig

In terms of club football, Rangers is always the job that McInnes wanted.

He was sad to leave Hearts, but the truth is that no other job in Scotland would have drawn him away from Tynecastle.

Perhaps apart from the Scotland job itself.

When asked about the potential of leading the Tartan Army back in 2019, McInnes didn't shirk his feelings.

The former Aberdeen boss said, as quoted by Sports Mole: "I think it depends on where you are in your career, but managing your country would have to be up there with the majority of managers as some sort of ambition at some point."

But given that McInnes still has plenty of miles left in the tank for his managerial career, he will most likely see out his duties with the Light Blues first before switching.

Rangers fans can be thankful that the 49ers acted as fast as they did, or else he could have already been announced as the new Scotland boss by now.