McInnes Keeps Blaming Bad Luck — Yet the Opposition Keep Scoring for Him: Celtic Fans Are Watching
Derek McInnes keeps pointing towards misfortune, but two opposition own goals in two consecutive defeats make the bad-luck narrative increasingly difficult to accept.
Phillip Cooney 
BIALYSTOK, POLAND - AUGUST 06: Rangers Manager Derek McInnes during a UEFA Europa League Third Qualifying Round First Leg match between Jagiellonia Bialystok and Rangers at the Chorten Arena, on August 06, 2026, in Bialystok, Poland. (Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Derek McInnes keeps talking about bad luck, but the evidence tells a rather different story.
Across the last two defeats against Jagiellonia Bialystok and Hibernian, his side have registered two goals.
Except they haven’t actually scored either of them.
Both were own goals.
That is an extraordinary detail to overlook while discussing everything supposedly going against you.
McInnes bad luck argument works both ways
Following the 2-1 defeat against Hibs at Ibrox, McInnes suggested the breaks weren’t falling for his team.
“There are little things going against us at the minute but we have to stay strong,” he said.
McInnes also disputed the penalty awarded to Hibs, describing it as “very soft”.
Then came perhaps his most revealing assessment.
“Hibs had two shots on target, and they’ve won the game, and it feels as if we’ve been mugged off a wee bit.”
Callum Wright’s late winner did take a deflection.
Was there fortune involved? Absolutely.
However, football cannot suddenly become a game of lucky deflections when Hibs score while opposition own goals are conveniently filed under “well-deserved” equalisers.
Miguel Chaiwa put through his own net to bring the Ibrox side level.
That sounds remarkably like good fortune.
Yet McInnes described the equaliser as “well-deserved” while concentrating on the breaks supposedly going against his team.
You cannot have it both ways.
McInnes bad luck narrative ignores two own goals
The Hibs own goal wasn’t even an isolated incident.
Just days earlier, Jagiellonia defender Guilherme Montoia scored an own goal to put McInnes’ team ahead in Poland.
Interestingly, McInnes acknowledged his fortune that night.
“We got a break with the goal,” he admitted.
That acknowledgement makes the subsequent complaints even harder to swallow.
Two matches. Two defeats. Two goals for McInnes’ side.
Both scored by opposition players.
Put another way, his own players haven’t scored a goal themselves across those two matches.
For someone discussing “little things going against us”, plenty appears to have gone their way as well.
Celtic fans have seen the McInnes routine before
This tendency to look elsewhere following disappointment isn’t something McInnes discovered at Ibrox.
While managing Hearts, his furious reaction to Celtic receiving a late penalty against Motherwell landed him in trouble.
McInnes called the decision “actually quite disgusting”.
He then declared:
“It feels like us against everybody.”
Those comments ultimately resulted in a four-match touchline suspension, with one match suspended. That punishment is currently being appealed.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with questioning refereeing decisions.
Managers do it every week.
However, constantly highlighting misfortune while barely recognising the enormous slices of fortune going the other way becomes tiresome.
Sometimes a defeat isn’t about officials.
Other times it isn’t about deflections.
It certainly isn’t always about being “mugged off”.
Eventually, responsibility has to land with the manager and players.
Celtic fans have heard plenty of excuses coming from across the city over the years. They will recognise the routine immediately.
Bad luck?
When opposition players have scored both of your team’s last two goals, perhaps fortune hasn’t been quite as cruel as McInnes would have everyone believe.
Celtic fans are watching.
Bhoycie 
Eric Knott 
