Derek McInnes waves goodbye to a dozen of his squad who have been called up to represent their countries

While Rangers' international jet-setters are heading off on their travels, Dan Neil will have to make do with an Auchenhowie staycation.

But the Ibrox skipper is convinced his side are a team that is going places … so long as they can maintain their momentum through the Nations League break. Saturday night’s 2-0 win over St Mirren made it 12 games unbeaten for Derek McInnes’ side - and keeps them moving in the right direction as they prepare for a big end to 2026 and the chance to lift this season’s first major honour.

The victory in Paisley was just the send-off McInnes was looking for as the Gers gaffer gets set to wave goodbye to a 12-strong band of cap hopefuls for the next fortnight. As for Neil, well the only place he’s going is Hameldaeme.

The South Shields-born former Sunderland midfielder might not be in the Three Lions reckoning but he ensured McInnes’ men roared to victory against the Buddies by ramming home the crucial second goal that killed off Craig McLeish’s team.

However, while a dozen of his colleagues now scatter to the far reaches of the globe, Neil will be left to tick over back at base along with a skeleton squad of kids and those not called up.

McInnes blamed a sloppy showing against Kilmarnock after the last international break on the fact he couldn’t welcome the vast majority of his squad back to the Rangers Training Centre until 24 hours before that match as they returned in dribs and drabs from overseas.

But Neil is confident Rangers will be able to rev things back up when the Ibrox high-flyers return to Glasgow ahead of their trip to Motherwell in two weeks’ time.

He said: "There's definitely pros and cons to international breaks. It's a chance to recharge your batteries a little bit after a decent run of games. But it can also halt your momentum too. However, I think it's important that you take the positives out of the break.

“We can rest and recover ahead of the tough winter months. Hopefully all the boys come back unscathed and have good games with their international teams. In the meantime, the rest of us will be working hard at the training ground as well as having a few days off and we'll come back ready to fire again.”

Neil might not need his passport this week but he’s thrilled Gers have already booked a return ticket to Hampden for December 13. The Premier Sports Cup final showdown with Hibs offers McInnes and his men the chance to deposit the first piece of silverware the Ibrox trophy room has seen for three years. And Neil admits his team need to pick up where they left off in Paisley.

“Yes, 100 per cent, I'm sure we'll relay that message when all the boys are back together,” he said. “We've got a decent run of five games until the final. It's a great chance for us to build some momentum again after a break, going into that final. Like I said, we take one game at a time.

“When the final comes round, it comes round. We've got five really important fixtures before that which we need to pick up as many points as we can. Saturday was a good result going into the break. It was really important that we got that before the break and also got back to keeping clean sheets. It was a big thing that we spoke about before the game, keeping a clean sheet. Everyone played their part in that, and yeah, it's nice to get a win before this break.”

Rangers were sent on their way to the win after Ryan Naderi tucked home a first-half penalty, with Neil’s deflected strike clinching the points. They needed Ivor Pandur to pull off a couple of big stops late one but once he did, it ensured the journey back to Ibrox was far more satisfying than their recent frustrating trudges home after dropping points away to Dundee and Hearts.

Neil said: ”One of the big things we spoke about again, other than the clean sheets, is coming away from home and putting in a good performance.

"The last two away results and performances really haven't been us. It was important that we didn't have another one of them going into the break and have it lingering over us. Like I said, everyone played their part in making it a comfortable result. Coming away from home in any league is tough, but especially this league. The better our away form is, I think the better we're going to stand during the season.”

Neil was back leading out Gers having been dropped to the bench for last week’s League Cup semi win over Aberdeen at Hampden. He justified his selection by tucking home his third goal of the season - following up on his derby double against Celtic back in September.

But the captain said: “I didn’t feel so much that I had a point to prove. I think whenever I'm picked to play, whether that's off the bench or starting, I'm going to do everything I can to help the team. Thankfully, that chance dropped to me on Saturday. It could have been absolutely anyone, but thankfully it was me. It wasn't the cleanest of strikes, but we take them. So yeah, it wasn’t so much a point to prove. Whenever I'm called upon to play, I'll just do my best for the team.”