Barry Ferguson emerged from a catastrophic start to life as Rangers boss to savour a thrilling fightback triumph at Kilmarnock. The interim manager was staring down the barrel after a disastrous Rugby Park beginning. Killie flew out of the traps and Derek McInnes’ side led 2-0 inside 15 minutes through goals from Joe Wright and skipper Brad Lyons. At that stage, Rangers were a total shambles. With the defence in complete disarray and the team disjointed, Killie could have scored more in a first half hour which left Ferguson enraged. At that stage, he hauled the hapless Clinton Nsiala off the pitch, switched James Tavernier into centre-back and screamed for a response. It came. Vaclav Cerny sparked the Rangers recovery before half-time and Ferguson and his new coaching team of Neil McCann, Billy Dodds and Allan McGregor were celebrating by the finale after two Cyriel Dessers goals after the interval and a late strike from sub Nedim Bajrami won it for Rangers. It was gut-wrenching for McInnes, another ex-Ibrox midfielder. The gaffer’s home side were in control and in position to nab three priceless points after their blistering start before it all went wrong. McInnes was devastated, but it was a delight for Ferguson who was able to enjoy a comeback success in his opening match in post just two days after appointment. It was a see-saw clash and Killie ran rampant in the opening half hour. They could have finished the game in that period. Lyons had a shot tipped over by Jack Butland and a smart volley down the other end by Hamza Igamane pushed wide by Kieran O’Hara. However, Killie took the lead after 11 minutes through Wright and it was a goal of simplicity. Fraser Murray’s corner found the defender unmarked as Robin Propper fell over and he planted a header into the net. If that was bad for Rangers defensively, it was going to get far worse. Killie’s second was down to Nsiala and Nicolas Raskin being indecisive and weak as Lyons pounced to rob them of possession. The Northern Ireland international opted to take it early from distance and his bending finish was magnificent as it arched around Butland into the far corner. Rangers were a shambles. Marley Watkins missed a golden chance for a third as Ferguson fumed in the technical area and the striker soon missed another one-on-one. Bullied again by Bobby Wales who dragged wide, Ferguson had seen enough and Nsiala was hauled off and replaced by Ridvan Yilmaz. It was a mess. The Turk ran to left-back, only to realise he was right-back. Rangers were all at sea, but, the changes brought the desired response and, suddenly, they were back in it. Dessers had one scrambled off the line before Cerny was sent springing clear through onto the home goal. The Czech winger was being closed down, yet stayed cool to drive beyond O’Hara to cut the deficit for the restart. Ianis Hagi drove wide after Lewis Mayo slipped seven minutes into the second period, but, despite there appearing to be little sign of a touch, Rangers were awarded a corner and Tavernier’s delivery into the centre of the goal found Dessers who powered a header through the legs of O’Hara. With 62 minutes on the clock, the turnaround was completed with the Nigerian again the scorer. Yilmaz’s long pass drifted over the entire Killie backline and Dessers was away. His finish of the bouncing ball was lethal and assistant McCann jumped on Ferguson’s back in joy as the bench erupted. Rangers now had the points within their grasp and sealed them when Mohamed Diomande released sub Bajrami to drive a finish through O’Hara for a clinching fourth for the visitors and make sure it was a winning start from the fire for Ferguson. Here's five talking points from Ayrshire Ferguson wouldn’t have thought it was going to be easy, but even he couldn’t have envisaged how it began. He was animated immediately, howling at Igamane to get in the attacking line. Neil McCann was out firing off messages to individuals, but the start was an absolute disaster for them. The manager was looking towards his bench before the clock had hit 20 minutes and he was ordering a change soon afterwards. Firefighting from the start. Whatever he said to them pre-match, it either wasn’t right or they weren’t listening. Rangers were a complete mess for the opening half hour. It wasn’t so much the tactical side of it with square peg Yilmaz having to go in the round hole slot of right-back, but it was more to do with something to signal to those on the pitch and those watching that it wasn’t going to be tolerated. It worked. From that moment, there was more vigour, more fight and more threat. Killie didn’t help themselves with some bad defending of their own, but it was the type of response that Ferguson both wanted and needed. Being proactive and changing it when he did was crucial. Waiting until half-time might have seen the game done. Ferguson took a first decision to hand an opportunity to those players who finally finished the reign of Philippe Clement. The starting side which lost to St Mirren were given another chance. In fairness, looking at the options on the bench, there was not a great deal of wholesale change that could have been made, but it didn’t last. It couldn’t last. Nsiala had been ragdolled by Saints and he suffered the same awful experience here in 30 abysmal minutes. It was almost an act of mercy by the manager to take him off and, in truth, Propper was lucky it wasn’t him. Two Clement centre-halves shambolic and a third, Rafael Fernandes, overlooked at the change as Yilmaz was pitched on at right-back in an emergency measure. Some, such as Ianis Hagi, didn’t really do enough, others such as Dessers stepped up when the team needed it. They’ll all get a chance to prove themselves, but, as Nsiala has discovered, it won’t take long to be dismissed if you aren’t cutting it. Naturally, most attention was fixed on the Rangers management, but Killie have a former Ibrox midfielder of their own doing a fine job at their club and there are quite a few Rangers fans who wouldn’t mind him being at their club at some point. Derek McInnes got the Ayrshire side into Europe this season and he’s still in the fight for the top six. McInnes knows the game and he knew the Rangers weaknesses. His team exploded to exploit and they made five chances inside that first half-an-hour with Wright and Lyons taking a couple of them. However, the game could have been long done by the time Cerny netted and Killie were made to pay for not putting it to bed. McInnes was left shattered as his team failed to deal with a dead-ball delivery and one straight ball over the top which saw them go from 2-1 up to 3-2 down in the space of 10 devastating minutes. It was a sore one for the hosts. The skipper has been a much-maligned figure this term with some poor displays and many fans feeling his time at the club should have been ended by now. Tavernier had a discussion with Ferguson on Sunday night at the Training Complex with a decision made to keep the armband wrapped around the right-back’s arm. He had to do a job for his new manager in the alterations at 2-0 down. By that stage, he had fumbled a throw-in midway through the first-half which just about summed it up. But, as Nsiala was hooked, Tavernier stepped into centre-back alongside Propper to try and provide some resistance. It gave Rangers some solidity at least and Tavernier then delivered the corner up the other end for Dessers’ equaliser. Moving over to playing a different role when it was required, helping to make a goal. That’s what his manager would have been looking for in a time of need. The Nigerian striker has often been the poster-boy for Rangers failings in attack and there have been many occasions when he has not delivered. But the one thing he never does is hide. He never did it even when it was grim in the darkest days of Clement and he put his marker down at just the right time for Ferguson here. Dessers had spoken about players letting the club and fans down after the Saints debacle at the weekend and he showed grit with goals here for Ferguson. The first was a striker’s header from close range and the second was about movement and a lethal finish. The hitman has now moved onto the 20-goal mark for the season and more of this will see him given the nod time and again by the interim boss.