This hard-fought victory, built on the strength of first half goals from Nacho Novo and Libor Sionko, continues Rangers’ recent renaissance and lifts them above Aberdeen into second in the table.
Another difficult trip to Inverness awaits on Wednesday night but Le Guen and his men can travel north with confidence following this performance rich in character and fight.
Aberdeen will no doubt continue to press Rangers all the way for the second Champions League spot but for now it is the Glasgow side who again hold the upper hand.
While perhaps not quite ready to be spoken about in the same breath as the all-conquering team of the 80s moulded by Alex Ferguson, the recent rise of Jimmy Calderwood’s side meant the sold-out signs were posted up outside Pittodrie for a competitive match for the first time in a decade.
Rangers have always been a big draw for the punters in the north-east although the reception hasn’t always been that welcoming for supporters or players alike, a notion sadly once more affirmed by the savage beating dished out to one fan – deemed to be a Rangers supporter – right below the press box shortly after Novo’s opener.
Police and stewards rushed to intervene to prevent a mob uprising yet, somewhat remarkably, still allowed the chief thug to return to his seat to the hearty congratulations of his chums while the supposed Rangers fan, who at worst had cheered a goal in the wrong end of the stadium, was hastily evicted.
At least on the pitch events took on a more positive hue for Rangers. Criticised for their poor finishing against Celtic the previous week, Le Guen’s men took our their frustration on a bewildered Aberdeen side who found themselves two goals down within 24 minutes.
Novo and Sionko combined for both, the Spaniard enjoying a huge ladle of fortune for the opener when he completely mistimed his connection with his team-mate’s cross only to see the ball spoon up and in over the stranded Jamie Langfield.
That sparked the rammy in the crowd and, while police and stewards piled in to sort out the mess, on the pitch Rangers were quietly doubling their lead.
The goal was a near carbon copy of the first albeit with Novo this time the provider and Sionko applying a rather more composed finish than his Spanish colleague from around 12 yards.
It was a great start for Rangers but they could have scored more in an entertaining 45 minutes, Novo thrashing an effort over the crossbar after a searching pass from Sasa Papac with the scoreline still blank and Sionko seeing another fine finish parried by Langfield shortly before the half-time whistle.
While Rangers trooped up the tunnel satisfied with their lot, Aberdeen were left cursing some rotten luck.
Darren Mackie was allowed acres of space to amble through the Rangers defence before planting a shot against Allan McGregor’s post and the same part of the woodwork was set a-quivering late in the first half when struck by Lee Miller’s effort.
The second half lacked the same dramatics prevalent in its predecessor, a situation that benefited Rangers more than their opponents and highlighted by the hush that engulfed the home support where they had been previously raucous in their backing.
Le Guen withdrew Prso for Filip Sebo – perhaps with Wednesday’s clash with Inverness Caley in mind – before Rangers survived another pair of close things with Papac booting Michael Hart’s free kick off the goal line before Miller fluffed a chance from a similar position to where Sionko had found the target in the first half.
Just as Rangers looked to be coasting through to the final whistle, Steve Lovell scored from close range when McGregor could only parry Mackie’s shot to give Aberdeen a late lifeline in a game that seemed to be gradually drifting away from their grasp.
Four added minutes added to the anxiety but Rangers held on to record an invaluable win.
ABERDEEN (4-4-2): 1 Langfield; 2 Hart, 4 Anderson, 21 Considine (Lovell 61), 19 Foster; 7 J Smith (Diamond 46), 8 Nicholson (Maguire 75), 5 Severin, 11 Clark; 16 Miller, 10 Mackie
Subs not used: Soutar, Dempsey, Touzani, D Smith
Booked: Diamond (74), Anderson (83), Clark (90)
RANGERS (4-4-2): 22 McGregor; 20 Hutton, 19 Svensson, 7 Hemdani, 5 Papac; 14 Sionko, 6 Ferguson, 8 Clement, 25 Adam; 10 Novo (Rae 81), 9 Prso (Sebo 56)
Subs not used: Klos, Buffel, Rodriguez, Stanger, Lowing
Booked: None