Derek McInnes rubbishes Cammy Devlin Rangers doubters as he admits relief over failed Hearts persuasion

Derek McInnes says he’s delighted to welcome Cammy Devlin to Rangers ... having spent most of the last year trying to persuade him to stay at Hearts, writes Andy Newport in Spain. The former Tynecastle midfield battler has followed his former Gorgie gaffer to Govan following the expiry of his Jambos deal . The 28-year-old Socceroos World Cup ace has penned a two-year deal with the option of a third after knocking back offers from the MLS. McInnes had spent the final few months of his own stint in the capital desperately trying to negotiate a fresh contract for the little Australian. But he’s now relieved he failed. McInnes said: "When you work closely with players, you've always got that added advantage. You don't just see what you get on a Saturday, you see them day in, day out. “And for me, Cammy brings so much. As a free agent, it made so much sense to us. "I was trying to convince Cammy for most of the season to stay at Hearts. “But the longer that went on, the more I thought he was looking at other opportunities. "There was a few opportunities maybe abroad for him. But getting him to come and work with us again, I'm really pleased with that.” And now McInnes has hit back at the sceptical Gers fans who have questioned whether Devlin is good enough to pull on a blue jersey. In fact, the new Ibrox boss insists Devlin - a key figure in the Tynecastle side that came within three minutes of lifting the club’s first title in 66 years last term - insist not only does he tick all the boxes required of a Rangers, he believes he will also make the men around him raise their own standards. He declared: “If I didn't think he could do the job that's going to be asked of him, I wouldn't be signing him, even as much as I like him. “What Cammy does is bring a day-to-day mindset, a day-to-day mentality that's so needed at this club. “It's so required that you need to train with personality, you need to train properly, you need to put the demand on. “And he'll bring all that. “Modern football, a lot of the time, you've got a lot of players who play for themselves. “But I do think Cammy’s got the ability to make others round about him better. "There's no coincidence that a lot of our forward players last season at Hearts got so many credits and plaudits. Because behind that was a team. And Cammy was a big part of that. “His ability to make the guys round about him better, just by being him and being very simple, playing with passion, playing with enthusiasm, playing with a real competitive nature. “But he also plays with, he's a proper team-mate in a true sense. The players will love him as soon as he comes in. “I mean, arguably if Cammy and Lawrence Shankland don't get significant injuries last season, we could probably have won the league, but losing their impact was clear. “So both of them had strong seasons, but both Lawrence and Cammy are good types. “And I do think that it's more than just being a good player, you need to thrive here. We can't always just sign players of that ilk, but if you've not got enough of them in the building, you're not going to get the job done, I don't think.” While Devlin is set to arrive at Ibrox once he’s had a short holiday following his World Cup duties, John Souttar and Danilo are edging towards the exit. Both men have skipped Gers’ sunshine training camp in Spain as they close in on moves away from Glasgow. Scotland defender Souttar has interest down south while clubs in both Greece and Holland are pursuing deals with Brazilian frontman Danilo. Souttar’s potential exit may come as a surprise. He had been a regular at Ibrox since joining the club from Hearts in 2022. But the 29-year-old dropped out of the starting line-up in the final few weeks under Danny Rohl and failed to make it off Steve Clarke’s bench during Scotland’s disappointing World Cup campaign. Danilo, meanwhile, has failed to hit the heights expected of him after his £6million move from Feyenoord in 2023. He spent the second half of last season at NEC Nijmegen.