Rangers player ratings vs Kilmarnock: 2/10 shocker dodged hook as 9/10 veteran sets the standard

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Barry Ferguson would have wanted an easier first game in charge than a trip to Rugby Park to face Kilmarnock, not that the fixture list was ever going to affect his decision to take the job.

The new Rangers manager had a decent squad to work with but was restricted by only having one training session with his team ahead of what is always a tough fixture.

With a new era at Ibrox up and running, here are your Rangers player ratings for an inspired display against Kilmarnock.

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Rangers player ratings vs Kilmarnock

Rangers have struggled all season on their travels, however, this is how they performed on, thankfully, their final trip to Ayrshire this season:

Jack Butland – 6

Couldn’t do much with the two Killie goals as he was left exposed by his defence, which is clearly a factor in the rest of his play.

Chopping and changing the centre-half pairing in front of him isn’t helping his confidence at all.

Made a positive save at 3-2 with Kilmarnock starting to increase the pressure.

Jefte – 7

Looks increasingly like he needs some time out of the firing line to get his mojo back.

In the first period he played too safe, too often and didn’t engage his winger anywhere near as aggressively as he was during his best run of form.

Was much improved in the second half and looked like he had been told to overlap more, getting in behind Kilmarnock and stretching their defence – much more like it.

Solid at the back too.

James Tavernier – 9

It’s a sad state of affairs when your 33-year old right back is also your best centre-half.

Stepped into the middle after about half an hour and instantly started doing the job that Robin Propper should have been doing.

Made a huge difference in the middle of defence to the extent that serious consideration has to be given to him staying there.

Robin Propper – 2

Shocking. Constantly ignored Nicolas Raskin for easy passes in midfield and gave the ball away by just launching it downfield only for it to come back down his throat and to cause chaos.

Got bullied in every duel, left runners, struggled at set-pieces and was lucky that he didn’t get taken off instead of Clinton Nsiala.

Was even worse in the second half with Kilmarnock causing problems every time they targeted Propper.

Clinton Nsiala – 3

Ferguson chose to take the younger of the two centre-halves off when it was Propper who was the bombscare, not that Nsiala had looked any more solid.

Could have done much better with Kilmarnock’s second goal and, like Jefte, needs a breather.

Nicolas Raskin – 7

An honest shift from the Belgian midfielder but isn’t helped by his centre-halves not trusting him.

It must get infuriating showing for the ball, only to see it launched over his head and then back where it came from.

Every positive period of play came when he was more involved.

Mohamed Diomande – 8

He’s been at Rangers long enough to know what type of challenge he is going to face at places like Rugby Park.

Wanted too much time on the ball and couldn’t impose himself on the game in possession during the earlier stages.

His assist for Vaclav Cerny’s goal shows what he is capable of when he does get his head up, but there needs to be so much more from him.

Two moments of class and two assists, this is why Diomande needs to be more proactive and demand the ball.

Ianis Hagi – 5

Nothing really came off for Hagi who was busy and industrious if not as clinical as he is capable of being.

Looked to link up with Hamza Igamane but could have done with more help from Jefte in terms of overlapping runs to create space and give him another option.

Vaclav Cerny – 6

Took his goal well but should have had a couple of assists to his name in the first half too when two 3 v 2 counter-attacks were butchered.

Strangely quiet and guilty of trying too hard or of hesitating to either get a shot away or to play a pass.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	CelticCeltic	28	23	3	2	82	15	67	72
2	RangersRangers	27	17	5	5	54	22	32	56
3	AberdeenAberdeen	28	12	5	11	36	44	-8	41
4	Dundee UtdDundee Utd	27	11	7	9	33	31	2	40
5	HibernianHibernian	27	9	10	8	39	38	1	37

Hamza Igamane – 7

Looked like he got the message in terms of effort and intensity, did the running of two as he looked to find a way through the Kilmarnock defence.

Saw one spectacular effort saved with the score at 0-0 but was guilty of overcomplicating promising attacks when he was in good positions.

Drew a fine save from the Killie keeper with a long range effort but couldn’t get much else going.

Cyriel Dessers – 8

Should have scored twice in the first half and was guilty of giving the ball away or letting Kilmarnock’s defenders win back possession too easily.

Continues to be a problem in open play, however, his movement to score Rangers second is why he is on 20 goals for the season.

He then went one better by scoring his hardest chance of the night with perfectly executed volley into the bottom corner.

Dessers doing what Dessers does.

Substitutes

Ridvan Yilmaz – 8

Was comfortably Rangers best player in the first half despite only being on for the last 20 minutes after replacing Nsiala.

Added composure, looked to play into the midfield’s feet and drove forward with the ball too.

Stunning assist for Cyriel Dessers to score Rangers third.

Tom Lawrence – 6

Didn’t really have much of a chance to impact proceedings playing in a deeper number eight role.

Nedim Bajrami – 7

Looked hungry to make something happen in a more advanced role in the forward line, a couple of good runs were rewarded when he scored Rangers fourth.

Ross McCausland – 6

Not on long enough to impact the game.