Derek McInnes has described being unable to manage his side from the touchline as "the worst thing."
The Rangers boss will serve a two-game suspension and watch Wednesday night’s clash with Falkirk from the stands, after the club’s appeal against his ban was partially upheld.
🔵 "Being denied to do my job is the worst thing... but I've got to deal with the decision." Derek McInnes will be in the stand for Rangers' game at Falkirk tomorrow, live on Sky Sports, following the club's appeal over his touchline ban ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/xnrfNYyIXM
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) September 1, 2026
McInnes was originally handed a three-game ban for comments made while he was Hearts manager last season, but this has been reduced to two matches, with two further games suspended until the end of the 2026-27 campaign.
The Ibrox manager disagrees with the punishment but has accepted the outcome of the appeal. McInnes said: "You’ve got to respect the appeal process. I don’t agree with the ban, but I’ve got to accept it.
"I’m thankful that I got at least one game off, so to speak. But I just feel as though being denied to do my job is the worst thing.
"I want to do my job, and I want to be in the dugout, but I’ve got to deal with the decision and move on."
McInnes will be absent from the Rangers technical area for the Falkirk match and Saturday’s game against Motherwell.
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However, he believes his staff will ensure there is minimal disruption to Rangers’ match preparation.
He said: "It’s just obviously the preparation up until when the team line comes in, which obviously is different because I won’t be able to be in the dressing room, which is a bit of a frustration.
"But I’ve got good staff to help with all these things. It goes quite slick, what we want to do anyway. The team we’ve got is picked; the predicted Falkirk team will be in our heads anyway.
"The messaging and everything will be done ahead of the game, so it will just be fine-tuning things."
McInnes will watch the game from the stand and acknowledges that his ability to influence proceedings once the match begins will be limited. He added: "I’ll be watching the game from the stand and trust my staff to help the players do their jobs.
"And ultimately, once the game starts, the influence that I can have from the sideline just isn’t going to be there."
