Barry Ferguson made a dramatic start at Rangers as they came from two goals down at Kilmarnock to secure victory in his first Scottish Premiership game as interim boss.
The former captain said the chance to lead his club was a dream, but early goals from Joe Wright and Brad Lyons threatened to turn it into a nightmare.
Clinton Nsiala was hooked after just half an hour and it was an inspired change as the visitors rallied with Vaclav Cerny slotting in before the break.
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Cyriel Dessers’ great goal put Rangers 3-2 ahead against Kilmarnock
There were the usual missed chances from Cyriel Dessers early on, but the striker’s second-half double turned the Rangers’ fans jeers to cheers with Nedim Bajrami coming off the bench to wrap up the victory with a fourth late on.
Rangers are back to trailing Celtic by 13 points, Kilmarnock are 10th.
Ferguson brings fighting spirit to Rangers
It was a case of new faces, old frailties for Rangers as they looked to bounce back from a turbulent few days following Philippe Clement’s departure.
The home side forced a series of corners and from an 11th-minute Fraser Murray delivery the unmarked Wright bulleted a header past Butland, with marker Robin Propper eased aside.
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Joe Wright’s header put Kilmarnock 1-0 up against Rangers
And three minutes later Lyons intercepted a short pass back from Gers midfielder Nicolas Raskin, moved forward and curled the ball from 20 yards past Butland.
The visitors were all over the place.
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Brad Lyons’ great finish put Kilmarnock 2-0 up against Rangers as Barry Ferguson’s first match in charge got off to a bad start
Killie striker Marley Watkins missed two great chances before Ferguson brought on Ridvan Yilmaz for Nsiala, with the Turkish left-back moving to right-back and skipper James Tavernier moving inside to partner Propper.
Dessers should have reduced the deficit in the 34th minute but his shot from four yards was blocked by defender Lewis Mayo.
But moments later Cerny slipped the ball under O’Hara after racing on to a Mohamed Diomande pass and Rangers were back in the game.
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Cyriel Dessers’ header got Rangers back in the game against Kilmarnock
Killie wobbled until the break then came out re-energised, only to concede a second in the 53rd minute when Dessers headed past O’Hara from skipper James Tavernier’s dipping corner.
And the Nigeria striker put the rejuvenated visitors ahead in the 62nd minute when he took a searching Yilmaz pass and volleyed in from 16 yards, racing to the Gers fans behind the goal to celebrate.
The Ayrshire side responded and in the 76th minute Butland did well to push a bouncing shot from Corrie Ndaba away from danger, with O’Hara beating away a speculative drive from Igamane at the other end.
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Nedim Bajrami got Rangers’ fourth of the night to put them 4-2 up against Kilmarnock
Minutes after coming off the bench and with the home defence wide open, Bajrami took a pass from Diomande and drove past O’Hara to seal the points that had looked unlikely after half an hour.
‘A lot of things we need to improve’
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Barry Ferguson discusses his first game in charge of Rangers after they came back from 2-0 down to beat Kilmarnock.
Rangers head coach Barry Ferguson speaking to Sky Sports:
“I’m not going to get over-excited. It was good, but there’s a lot of things we need to improve on and the guys know it as well.
“They’ve been under that scrutiny, but they’ve got the heart and the desire.
“I wouldn’t have taken the job if I didn’t think I could get something out of them. They showed a different side to them tonight.
“I’m not going to get carried away, it’s only one game. They now need to take that into Saturday because they’re at home and if it’s like after 10 minutes the crowd start to get on you a wee touch.
“They need to learn to deal with these situations. Spending the last 24 hours with them, I think they realise that situation now.”
‘Bad decisions and defending’
Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes
Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes:
“I just thought we became a bit excitable in the game.
“We did everything I was hoping we would do in the first period that first 35 minutes.
“I loved the personality. I love the aggression of the team. I loved how we played the game.
“We took on an instruction. We unsettled Rangers and we made it the type of game that needed to be.
“But I just feel we get caught up in the game a bit and we’ve got a bit excitable.
“I don’t think we reacted well at 2-2. Rangers sniffed blood. We have to learn from that but we gave it a go.
“Some bad decisions and defending allowed us to come away with nothing.”
What the pundits said
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Barry Ferguson’s Rangers came back from 2-0 down to take all three points against Kilmarnock in his first game in charge.
The Sky Sports’ pundits discussed Ferguson’s debut in the Rangers dugout:
Former Rangers captain Steven Davis:
“Absolutely brilliant, I think the first half an hour he’d [Ferguson] be really disappointed with but certainly after that there was a great reaction from the team.
“They’ll be absolutely delighted to get the win. It’s no easy feat coming from two goals behind here at Kilmarnock, so he’ll go home a happy man.”
Former Rangers forward Kris Boyd:
“I think after that first half an hour, you’re thinking, ‘where is this going to go?’ and then all of a sudden, it turns out it’s the same problems that Rangers have faced all season.
“You’ve got to give credit to the players that Barry Ferguson obviously made the substitution, brought on Yilmaz, moved a few players around and then you’ve seen Rangers click and get a good goal just before half-time.
“The second half, they totally dominated it and I think you can be pleased with the performance after 30 minutes but the same questions are still going to be asked, Rangers are very, very vulnerable at set plays.”
Former Scotland striker James McFadden:
“He’s been brought in to try and reconnect the team with the supporters and lift the whole mood. The way the game panned out actually probably couldn’t have been better to come from two goals down.
“As much as he wouldn’t have wanted to have to come from two goals down, these fans have certainly enjoyed it.
“We spoke at length about how little time Barry Ferguson’s coaching staff had to work with the players and then Barry spoke about how he wanted his team to play, and the ultimate aim from him is to win games.”