Emmanuel Fernandez and Rangers' New Era at Tannadice

Emmanuel Fernandez spent last season gliding through games in a Rangers shirt, a centre-half who looked built for the stage. Calm on the ball, dominant in the air, a menace in both boxes. A Rolls Royce, as the cliché goes – and for long spells, he justified the billing.

But even the most expensive motors can veer off course. Fernandez carried a habit that won’t survive long under Derek McInnes: the occasional, needless lapse. The kind that turns a routine clearance into a heart-stopper. The kind that invites trouble.

On a night when Rangers’ new era kicks off at Tannadice, those Cruyff turns and risky detours out from the back are no longer party tricks. They’re a dangerous road.

McInnes’ hard edge meets Rangers’ new look

McInnes returns to Ibrox in a very different guise from the one that made him a serial winner in the 1990s. Back then, he was part of a machine that churned out trophies and demanded standards. Now, as manager, he wants to recreate that edge – and he’s made it clear that comfort is the enemy.

If his players feel uncomfortable, good. That’s the point.

Rangers have ripped up the squad again. Eight new faces, a new captain in Lawrence Shankland, and a manager who has no interest in indulging soft habits or fragile mindsets. The mentality questions that have hung over recent Rangers sides won’t be allowed to linger on his watch.

He has the profile to enforce it. He also has the leverage: places are up for grabs everywhere.

A squad still under construction

For all the churn, there are still gaps. Rangers have signed what feels like a full midfield department, yet the one thing McInnes still craves is that elusive creative spark. The X-factor type who can unlock a game that’s drifting towards stalemate.

Thelo Aasgaard’s recent shoulder scare only underlined how thin things look in those areas. He’s shaken it off in time for tonight and is expected to start wide, with Djeidi Gassama on the opposite flank, but the broader picture remains. The recruitment team still need wingers, still need a back-up for Tuur Rommens, still need more variety in the final third.

Scottish clubs know this cycle too well. European qualifiers land early, the money is vital, and the squads need to be ready before the market has even properly woken up. While Rangers scramble to complete deals and bed in signings, clubs in the Big Five leagues are boarding pre-season flights, taking on Sydney FC in the sun, and waiting for their moment to pounce on a Nico Raskin-type when it suits them.

That dynamic is playing out with Mikey Moore. Tottenham have no reason to rush a decision on his future. They can test him in pre-season, weigh up their options, and decide whether to sanction another loan to Govan while also eyeing big-money moves for the likes of Savinho. Rangers, as ever, wait.

Them’s the breaks.

New spine, old expectations

The backline is the most obvious symbol of change. At the heart of it, Atalanta loanee Ben Godfrey is expected to slot in beside Fernandez, forming a partnership that blends athleticism with ball-playing calm – and, in Fernandez’s case, the temptation to overdo it.

Behind them, £6 million man Ivor Pandur steps into the gloves vacated by Jack Butland, edging out Liam Kelly for the No. 1 spot. Out wide, at least, there is a degree of continuity: Dujon Sterling and Rommens should start at full-back, giving Rangers a familiar shape on the flanks.

In front of them, Dan Neil and Cammy Devlin will be asked to do the heavy lifting in midfield. Neil, fresh from Sunderland, brings control and composure. Devlin, from Hearts, brings bite and relentlessness. Both must make an instant impression on a support that has grown weary of false dawns.

Higher up, Mohamed Diomande could operate from the right, with Aasgaard rewarded for cutting short his post-World Cup break by getting the nod on the left. It’s a reminder of how much this squad has relied on players pushing themselves just to plug gaps.

Shankland’s armband, Naderi’s chance

The captaincy call was the headline move. Lawrence Shankland, the prolific former Hearts striker, now leads Rangers out. McInnes still has to solve the puzzle of how to pair him with Youssef Chermiti, but the early signs point to a front two, Shankland dropping slightly deeper to knit play while Chermiti stretches defences.

Then there’s Ryan Naderi, the wild card in McInnes’ first league XI. The German, signed for a hefty fee from Hansa Rostock in the third tier of his homeland, looked a real find before injury cut short his first months in Glasgow. He pressed from the front, chased hopeless balls, made defenders panic – the kind of selfless work that once defined Kenny Miller when he partnered Kris Boyd.

Naderi starts ahead of both Chermiti and Bojan Miovski tonight. That alone tells you how highly McInnes rates him. Miovski and Chermiti will be snarling on the bench, waiting for a crack at Dundee United – a side Naderi has already scored against.

Waiting in reserve with them: new recruits Dan Neil, Olwethu Makhanya, Ross McCrorie and Vanja Dragojevic, all itching to make their Light Blue bows.

Lessons from last year’s false start

The sense of déjà vu is hard to ignore. A year ago, it was Russell Martin’s turn to usher in a new Rangers age, backed by a raft of signings and a wave of optimism. His first league outing ended in a flat draw at Fir Park against another debutant, his former team-mate Jens Berthel Askou, whose Motherwell side were supposedly in flux.

It felt like a stumble. In hindsight, it looked like a warning.

Now it’s Dundee United providing the first examination. The venue is Tannadice, the stakes are familiar, and the questions haven’t really changed. Is this the dawn of something real, or just another carefully marketed sunrise that fades by autumn?

McInnes will at least be on the touchline to influence it. His four-game SFA ban, carried over from comments made as Hearts boss at the end of last season, is under appeal, allowing him to patrol the technical area tonight. He’ll need to tread carefully. Nick Walsh has the whistle, with Calum Spence and Jonathan Bell running the lines, Peter Stuart as fourth official, and Steven McLean and Gary Hilland overseeing VAR.

No hiding place now

It feels like yesterday that Danny Rohl’s Rangers wrapped up their campaign with a dead rubber against Falkirk. Since then, the squad has been torn apart and rebuilt, the captaincy has changed hands, and McInnes has stepped into the heat.

He has asked his players to embrace discomfort. To live with the demands that once made Ibrox an unforgiving place for opponents and team-mates alike.

For Emmanuel Fernandez, that means stripping the excess from his game. No more indulgent Cruyff turns on the edge of his own box. No more casual strolls across a tightrope. Not under this manager. Not with this much riding on every touch.

The new season starts at Tannadice. Whether it becomes a new era or just another false dawn may depend on how quickly Rangers learn to stop flirting with danger and start treating nights like this as non-negotiable business.