Ibrox clearout starts in earnest as McInnes talks to Aberdeen

0 Comments | Sunday Herald, The, Jul 4, 1999 | by Exclusive by Michael Grant

RANGERS and Aberdeen are in talks to secure a #400,000 move north for Derek McInnes. New Dons manager Ebbe Skovdahl has submitted a bid for the midfielder who turns 28 tomorrow. It is short of Rangers' #500,000 valuation but talks are ongoing and a deal should be agreed later this week.

Aberdeen will continue their effort to sign goalkeeper Ian Bennett despite Birmingham City rejecting their #450,000 offer. Trevor Francis's club has accepted an identical bid from Grimsby Town but Bennett wants to come to Scotland.

After nine seasons with Morton, McInnes joined Rangers for #300,000 in November, 1995. But he was never more than a squad player under Walter Smith and Dick Advocaat. He started only one game - the Scottish Cup final - last season and ten days ago received a letter from Advocaat confirming he was no longer wanted. Sheffield United are also interested in McInnes and Rangers may have used him as a makeweight in a deal to bring England under-21 internationalist Curtis Woodhouse from Bramall Lane. Meanwhile, Advocaat may consider selecting a below-strength team in League Cup ties to give his main players a chance to rest. Advocaat - who described the tournament as "just for fun" - is concerned by the growing fixture demands placed on a team facing three domestic competitions and a European campaign. The Dutchman is reluctant to give up the prospect of winning a trophy which can form part of the domestic treble, but the League Cup is at the foot of his list of priorities. The League Cup has suffered two blows in recent seasons, first with the withdrawal of sponsors Coca-Cola, followed by the removal of an automatic Uefa Cup place for the winners. As with the Worthington Cup in England, the League Cup is struggling to retain its status as a credible competition. "Last season we played 54 games, and if you include maybe 15 pre- season friendlies that is 65-70 games," said Advocaat."Normally you can do that if you have a big squad but last season we had so many players injured and then you can get problems. The League Cup is just for fun and maybe they can do something with that. We have the normal cup, the league, and the European cups. You see how important they are for Scottish football because we can get the ranking points. The period from August to September is when there is the League Cup competition. Maybe they spread it a bit more but it's still five or six games." So would Advocaat consider fielding an under-strength side in the League Cup? "I always like to win, that's the problem. But maybe. We would have to look at what the situation is then. Maybe we would have to look at the league and the cup and try some other players." o Rangers could half the transfer fee they paid for Colin Hendry to offload him. The Ibrox club paid #4 million to Blackburn Rovers for the Scotland captain under a year ago. Hendry, who missed the start of training last week as he is still recovering from ankle surgery, will be made available for #2 million. It could see him make a quick return to English football, with Blackburn, Sunderland and West Ham all interested. Advocaat had a #1 million bid for Hearts star Paul Ritchie rejected last week, but he is still confident he will land the 23- year-old, even if it means waiting for his current contract to expire next summer. Hendry is being pushed into the background and Advocaat might use Craig Moore as Lorenzo Amoruso's central defensive partner in the new season.