The result ends any doubts of the West Lothian side finishing above Rangers in what has already been a fairytale season for Jim Leishman and his players and keeps alive any slim hopes the Ibrox legions have of catching leaders Celtic.
McLeish was dealt two pre-match injury blows in the shape of Captain Barry Ferguson and Arthur Numan who were both ruled out of the clash with Livingston, the pair believed to have picked up knocks in training.
Tore Andre Flo was recalled to the first eleven in place of Michael Mols, who had scored the only goal of the last game against St Johnstone at Ibrox a fortnight ago, and the Norwegian was partnered up front by Shota Arveladze and Claudio Caniggia.
Stephen Hughes replaced Ferguson in midfield and was joined, from right to left, by Fernando Ricksen, Ronald de Boer, so effective in that withdrawn midfield role against Saints, and Australian international Tony Vidmar.
Livingston have been the shock team of the SPL this season, sitting third in the table having only come up last season, and Jim Leishman’s men were always going to prove a tough nut to crack as Rangers looked for their fourth consecutive win under McLeish.
And in the opening 10 minutes the Light Blues were restricted to a long-range effort by De Boer which was spilled by Livvy ‘keeper Nick Culkin before Oscar Rubio cleared for a corner. And Lorenzo Amoruso, captain for the day, was next up with a free-kick from just outside the box which whistled over the bar.
Caniggia then went close in the 16th minute. Ricksen found him clear on the right wing and the Argentinian cut inside before blasting in a shot from an extremely acute angle which almost went under Culkin but he managed to save it at the second attempt.
Livingston looked quite tidy on the ball but their small band of supporters had to wait until the 20th minute before they had an effort on goal. The Rangers players stood off Massimiliano Caputo as he ran from the halfway line, inviting the Italian to have a shot and when he did it was just over the bar.
Moments later World Cup referee Hugh Dallas was forced to reach for his book. Maurice Ross and Barry Wilson had been at each other since the game kicked off and after another incident he decided to show them both a yellow card.
Livingston then came within inches of scoring when David Fernandez curled a shot in from the right and it just went wide of the post. McLeish was furious as his defence stood still and watched the Livvy strikes almost connect with the cross-cum-shot.
But it was Rangers who took the lead just short of the half hour mark. Hughes played a perfectly weighted pass for Flo who ran onto the ball inside the box, rounded Culkin and rolled the ball into the empty net to make it 1-0.
Then 10 minutes before half-time the Light Blues doubled their lead thanks to Caniggia. De Boer fed the Argentinian with a lovely ball and he stabbed it past the advancing Culkin and into the back of the net.
Rangers lost a bit of momentum after the re-start, allowing Livingston to creep back into the game a little. That has been a problem this season, failing to kill teams off when they get their noses in front, but it never seriously looked as if the lead was going to be lost.
Whenever Rangers were under pressure, one man who was always there to break up Livvy attacks was Hughes. He looked every bit the player he was replacing – Ferguson – and proved once again that he is one for the future.
With 15 minutes left on the clock, Flo went close to making it a double when his header from a De Boer cross shaved the post. It was the Norwegian’s last involvement in the game as Michael Mols was given a run-out to keep his fitness up.
Neil McCann then replaced Arveladze in the closing stages of the match and it was his cross with three minutes left on the clock which Caniggia connected with to complete the rout of Livingston.
RANGERS: Klos, Ricksen, Amoruso, Caniggia, Flo (Mols 75), De Boer, Konterman, Ross, Arveladze (McCann 82), Vidmar, Hughes. Subs (not used): Christiansen, Wilson, Latapy
LIVINGSTON: Culkin, Brinquin, Bollan, Rubio, Andrews, Wilson (Aurellio 66), Bingham, Tosh, Makel (Hart 45), Fernandez, Caputo (Xausa 45) Subs (not used): McEwan, Anderson
Bookings: Rangers – Ross (23); Livingston – Wilson (23), Fernandez (55), Xausa (63)
Referee: Hugh Dallas
Attendance: 48,044
Man of the match: Stephen Hughes
Moment of the match: Goals are like waiting for the No. 67 bus – one doesn’t come for ages and then two come at the one time. Well, that’s certainly the case for Claudio Caniggia. They’ve been a long time coming – almost fourth months to the day to be precise – and just three days after his 35th birthday. So the Argentinian had plenty cause to celebrate his brace, especially the first to put Gers 2-0 up and end his barren spell.