For a man who pretty much qualifies as Rangers royalty, this looked like it could well be a night when a sense of unbridled chaos could ambush Barry Ferguson’s ascension to the Ibrox throne. Making the short trip down the M77 to what has been a notoriously awkward venue for Rangers over the years, heavy lay the crown on Ferguson’s head as his team fell 2-0 behind after barely quarter of an hour. In those moments, it was tempting to wonder what was going through his head. Was it really wise to trade the easy life of doing punditry work on the radio and writing newspaper columns for a world of total mayhem? In his previous jobs at Clyde, Kelty Hearts and Alloa Athletic, what could Ferguson possibly have learned that would have prepared him for this? None of those experiences in the lower leagues would have felt even remotely comparable to what was rapidly turning into a baptism of fire for the man Rangers fans still refer to as ‘Wee Barry’. But say this much for Ferguson. With his world in danger of imploding around him as Killie ran riot in the opening half-hour, he wasn’t about to sit on his hands and die wondering. With little over 30 minutes on the clock, he made a bold call and substituted Clinton Nsiala, who was having a torrid night in central defence along with the equally dreadful Robin Propper. Ferguson’s name rang out around Rugby Park. Not from the travelling support, who were utterly shell-shocked, but from a raucous home crowd who took pleasure in mocking the new Rangers interim manager. Ferguson’s team could have been 4-0 down by the time he changed things. But there was something in Ferguson, much as was his style as a player, that seemed to thrive with his back to the wall. He found a way of surviving the chaos and engineering a fightback which saw Rangers score four unanswered goals, two of which came from Cyriel Dessers. Dessers now has 20 for the season and while he became a figure of ridicule under Philippe Clement, he helped spare Ferguson’s blushes here last night in what was the new man’s first match at the helm. Rangers had won only four of their ten previous visits here at Rugby Park. It will pain Killie and Derek McInnes that they blew a golden chance to extend that woeful run. At full-time, Ferguson and the players went over to embrace the supporters. A small step in the right direction, albeit Rangers had to take a very circuitous route to secure the three points. Resisting the urge to make any wholesale changes in terms of shape or personnel, Ferguson stuck with the same team that lost 2-0 to St Mirren last weekend in what proved to be Clement’s final match in charge. As the TV cameras swarmed around him in the dugout prior to kick-off, the new interim man hoped his impact would be felt in a motivational sense rather than in terms of names on a team-sheet. Ferguson was dressed smartly, sporting a shirt and tie underneath a half-zip sweater. He wore a knee-length coat, suit trousers and dark brown shoes. But it wouldn’t be long until he felt a little hot under the collar as his best-laid plans swiftly unravelled in a chaotic opening period under the lights at Rugby Park. From a Fraser Murray corner on 11 minutes, Joe Wright arrived unmarked at the back post and headed Kilmarnock into the lead. Propper lay in a heap on the floor having collided with an opponent. Moments of personal embarrassment became a running theme for the dithering Dutch defender. Just three minutes later, it was 2-0 as Nico Raskin and Nsiala conspired to allow Brad Lyons a clear run through on goal. The biggest mistake came from Nsiala, who was weak and allowed the Killie captain the chance to scamper through on Jack Butland’s goal. Still with plenty to do, Lyons curled a quite magnificent finish beyond the Rangers keeper and into the far corner. Cue bedlam in the stands. Rangers were rattled. Ianis Hagi lashed out at a physical challenge from Kyle Magennis as both players were booked. The game was not even 20 minutes old and it had already turned into a disaster for Ferguson. By the time the half-hour arrived, he had seen enough. Nsiala was hooked and replaced by Ridvan Yilmaz as part of a defensive reshuffle which saw James Tavernier slot in at centre-back alongside Propper. Nsiala was the fall guy and, whilst his performance was dreadful, he was no worse than Propper. At 21, Nsiala has inexperience as an excuse. At 31, Propper does not. Killie blew a couple more great chances through strikers Marley Watkins and Bobby Wales. Truthfully, Rangers were lucky not to be 4-0 down. On the touchline, Ferguson implored his team - specifically Propper - to play forward quicker, only for the bungling defender to turn and play it back to Butland due to a lack of movement ahead of him. Wright denied Dessers with a terrific last-ditch block, before Vaclav Cerny got Rangers back into the game when he calmly slotted past Kieran O’Hara after latching on to a Mohamed Diomande pass on 35 minutes. Another slick Rangers move almost brought an equaliser when Cerny fed Dessers, but the Rangers striker produced a tame finish straight at O’Hara. The removal of Nsiala and deployment of Tavernier at centre-back had certainly helped settle Rangers, but they still had much to do as they emerged from the tunnel after half-time still trailing 2-1. But they drew level within eight minutes of the restart as a Tavernier corner found Dessers inside the penalty area, with the much-maligned striker heading low and through O’Hara’s legs. The comeback was then complete shortly after the hour when Dessers latched on to a long pass from Yilmaz. Killie’s defending was woeful as they failed to cut out the danger. Playing purely on instinct as the ball dropped over his shoulder, Dessers let fly on the half-volley and lasered a brilliant finish low into the far corner past O’Hara for 3-2. The collapse was illustrative of a Kilmarnock team who are having a poor season. Unable to free themselves of relegation trouble, McInnes’ side came into this with only six home wins in the league all season. One of those came in a 1-0 triumph over Rangers back in October, with Watkins scoring a late winner. In the early stages last night, Killie must have smelled blood once again. The squandering of that lead, however, became a story of terrible defending as much as anything else. Not that Rangers or Ferguson cared much. Butland saved low from Corrie Ndaba, before Rangers sub Nedim Bajrami struck late to secure the three points. Rangers and Ferguson had survived the chaos and lived to tell the tale.