Alongside Shankland’s decisive performance, another significant development for Rangers was midfielder Nicolas Raskin’s return to the team.
The Belgium international is regarded as one of the club’s leading assets and enhanced his reputation with an impressive World Cup campaign. However, he had been absent from Rangers’ previous two fixtures amid reports of a possible departure from Glasgow.
Rangers clearly felt his absence in the Czech Republic, where Jablonec took the contest to penalties before emerging victorious.
Raskin returned to the starting line-up against Falkirk, despite Rangers rejecting a loan proposal from Turkish side Besiktas earlier that day.
He played an important role in Shankland’s opening goal, recovering possession inside his own half before launching the move down the left. McInnes hopes the midfielder will still be at Rangers after Thursday’s transfer deadline.
“I was pleased to have Nico available for selection tonight,” McInnes said. “His experience is valuable to us, and I felt his performance improved after the break. I will be very happy if we keep him, and it appears that will be the case.”
During a hectic day of transfer activity, Rangers also agreed to a £1m loan proposal from Anderlecht for Norwegian midfielder Thelo Aasgaard.
McInnes also voiced his dissatisfaction with fixtures being scheduled so near to the end of the transfer window.
“Nico had the possibility of leaving today, but as I understand it, neither he nor the club wanted to pursue it,” he said. “That situation was certainly not the best preparation for the match.”
“I have wanted to involve Nico, although he has had plenty to deal with recently. He has continued to train with the squad every day, and there are moments when the team clearly benefits from greater experience.
“When we travelled from Ibrox around lunchtime and later arrived at the hotel, Thelo was sitting behind me and Nico was three rows farther back. At that stage, I still had no idea who would stay or leave. It was an extremely difficult situation.”
Rangers have recruited 12 players during a major summer overhaul, with Portland Timbers forward Kevin Kelsy expected to become their next arrival.
“This transfer period feels longer than any I can recall because there has been so much activity,” McInnes said.
“Closing the window will benefit everyone because we can then concentrate on working with the squad we have. It should also allow the players to feel more settled.
“We have brought in several promising players. Many of them are very young, which is sometimes evident, but I believe there is enough quality here to give us plenty of optimism through to January. We can then assess our position again.”
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