Derek McInnes has emphatically ruled out the possibility of taking over at Rangers as he insisted that his future is at Aberdeen.
Pittodrie chairman Stewart Milne revealed on Thursday to the official Aberdeen website that McInnes had told him he was going nowhere and the manager reiterated his intentions at his weekly media briefing on Friday.
Speaking ahead of the weekend’s fixtures, the former Ibrox midfielder told the Scottish Sun: “I had a good chat with the chairman and I reiterate what he said.
“This is purely driven by elements of the media. I see my future here.”
The Scottish Sun claim McInnes has been Rangers’ preferred candidate since the departure of Pedro Caixinha at Ibrox last month and he remains among the bookmakers’ frontrunners.
The former Rangers and West Bromwich Albion midfielder has also been linked with the vacancy at the Hawthorns but his stunning confession appear to emphatically rule out either option.
McInnes has been in charge at Pittodrie since 2013 following stints at St Johnstone and Bristol City.
Aberdeen finished second behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership last season and were also runners-up to the Glasgow side in the Scottish Cup and League Cup finals.
OPINION
This is huge news. McInnes could not have more emphatically shut the door on Rangers than if he had given two fingers up to Dave King in the Ibrox boardroom. It’s official now. McInnes has moved on, and so must the Glasgow giants as they look elsewhere for a new manager. The search has been an extensive and embarrassing one. It is a blow to Rangers, but then they have had nearly a month to get their house in order and pay the £800,000 compensation fee needed to prise McInnes from Pittodrie. If that is a figure Rangers can’t find the money for – their latest accounts suggest their finances are far from robust – then they need to identify a cheaper option.