The Gers’ manager only had to make one change to his team that beat Livi at Ibrox last week. Barry Ferguson, who broke his nose in a training ground clash with Marvin Andrews, being replaced by right-back Alan Hutton.
This allowed Gers’ captain Fernando Ricksen to move back into the centre of midfield alongside Bob Malcolm.
It was never going to be easy for Rangers to beat an Inverness side unbeaten in their last eleven games and a couple of crunching tackles in the opening two minutes underlined their commitment to new gaffer Charlie Christie.
But Rangers stunned the home support when they opened the scoring after only six minutes through Kris Boyd.
Chris Burke was the architect of the goal and showed why he remains one of the brightest prospects in Scottish football on his day.
The winger danced past three defenders before feeding the ball to Buffel and his pass into Boyd left the striker with the simplest of tasks to score his 23rd goal of the season.
It was the perfect start for the visitors but it only took Caley six minutes to get an equaliser.
Craig Dargo, the Highland club’s top scorer, latched on to a hopeful long-range shot from Ross Tokely before sliding the ball past the despairing Ronald Waterreus.
The goal was against the run of play and Rangers were close to restoring their lead minutes later.
Bob Malcolm twice came close to landing his first goal of the season, thrashing a 30-yard drive that was well saved by Brown before glancing the resultant corner off the post with the keeper well beaten.
Peter Lovenkrands was next up to try his luck on 26 minutes when he skipped past two defenders before unleashing a fierce drive which Brown did well to palm around the post.
The Dane took the corner himself and his dangerous, in-swinging cross fell to Andrews in the six-yard box. The Trinidad and Tobago star stooped before chesting the ball through the legs of Brown and into the net.
The travelling Rangers fans celebrated in style but they would have been disappointed to see Burke, who was in sensational form, being replaced by Dado Prso on 39 minutes after the winger looked to have twisted his ankle in a challenge tough challenge earlier in the game.
Nevertheless, Rangers ended the first-half with their slender advantage still intact and they thoroughly deserved to be in front.
McLeish would have asked for more of the same from his team in the second period and they should have found the net for a third time on 53 minutes.
Buffel picked the ball up on the left-wing and delivered a perfect cross to Kris Boyd but the striker’s header from six yards was brilliantly saved by Brown who had dived to his right.
It seemed that it would only be a matter of time before Rangers would increase their lead and it came from the penalty spot on 57 minutes after Lovenkrands was sandwiched in the 18-yard box by Golabeck and Wilson.
Kris Boyd, in his usual no-nonsense style, smashed his low shot inside the keeper’s right hand post.
The goal should have been the nail in the coffin for the home side but Caley’s never-say-die attitude was again evident when they scored a second with 19 minutes remaining.
Barry Wilson hammered a powerful shot towards goal and on-loan Hearts striker Dennis Wyness dived bravely to divert the ball past Waterreus.
Nerves were starting to show in the Gers’ backline and things could have got worse if referee Alan Freeman had awarded a penalty when the ball looked to have hit the hand of Ian Murray in the box.
Rangers, however, managed to hold on to a hugely important win which takes them above Hibs into third place and seven points behind second place Hearts.
INVERNESS CT: Brown, Tokely, Dods, McBain, Wilson, Duncan (Golabeck 45), Munro, Hastings (Bayne 87), Dargo, Wyness, Fox (Hart 87)
Subs Not Used: Fraser, McCaffrey, Proctor, McAllister,
Bookings: Wyness (45) Wilson (57) Fox (59) Dargo (65) Hart (88)
RANGERS: Waterreus, Ricksen, Andrews, Malcolm, Kyrgiakos, Boyd (Novo 75), Burke (Prso 39), Hutton, Murray, Lovenkrands, Buffe
Subs Not Used: Klos, Rae, Rae, Smith, Carcary
Bookings: Malcolm (34), Murray (51)
Referee: Alan Freeland
Attendance: 7,308