RANGERS produced arguably their best SPL performance of the season at just the right time to give a firm indication that the task of securing second place is most certainly within their reach.
There were excellent performances all over the field as the Light Blues fed on the terrific performance in Spain four days earlier and with a trip to Tynecastle beckoning on Sunday it could not have been more timely.
It may seem unusual to highlight a defender in such a resounding victory, but Julien Rodriguez produced a terrific performance and indicated that he will surely have a massive role to play in the run-in.
Dado Prso had maintained that his old Monaco team mate was going to be an excellent player for Rangers and there was no doubting the quality of Rodriguez.
The Frenchman missed nearly four months of the season with ankle ligament damage and it is always difficult to return to top form after such a lay-off.
He has achieved that and that will also be beneficial in the long term when Paul Le Guen starts to mould his team for the 2006/07 season.
Rodriguez even got among goals – scoring his first for Rangers to make the victory safe with 20 minutes remaining.
He powered a header into the roof of the net after Barry Ferguson had neatly found Soto Kyrgiakos at the back post and the big Greek set up Rodriguez with a measured header.
That made it 2-0 for Rangers, but they really should have had the game wrapped up long before that.
Inevitably, it was Kris Boyd who gave them the lead against his old club, living up to his pre-match promise that he would get over his disappointing miss in El Madrigal.
It was Chris Burke who started the move with a penetrating run from the right side to a central area when he then released Dado Prso on the left.
Prso, playing wide for this match, twisted his way into the box and laid the ball back for Burke around the penalty spot.
Truth be told, Burke had a swipe at it with his left foot, miss-kicked and the ball fell perfectly for Boyd who took one touch then clipped a left foot shot into the left corner.
The big surprise was that Rangers did not add to their lead until J-Rod’s moment of joy 20 minutes from the end.
With Thomas Buffel playing off Boyd and Burke and Prso in the wide areas, Rangers were a potent force coming forward and Killie did well to survive until so late in the game.
Alan Combe made decent saves from Ferguson, Burke and Boyd but it all went wrong for the Kilmarnock goalkeeper seven minutes from time.
He was caught out by the pace of Peter Lovenkrands and clearly brought him down to not only give away a penalty but to find himself sent off by referee Dougie McDonald.
The red card was harsh because Lovenkrands was heavy with his touch as he tried to go past Combe and may not have retrieved the ball to shoot on goal but technically the decision was correct.
The extra problem for Killie was that they had used all of their subs and midfielder James Fowler had to go between the sticks to face Prso’s penalty. It was no contest as Dado smashed it into the top right corner.
Luckless Fowler was caught again in the same area three minutes from time when Lovenkrands produced a fantastic free kick finish to really put the gloss on an excellent Rangers performance.
Gary McDonald fouled Fernando Ricksen some 30 yards out and Lovenkrands curled a wonderful effort into the top corner. He may not have tried if Combe had still been on the field, but it’s doubtful the regular Killie kleeper would have saved it anyway.
Roll on Tynecastle.
Rangers: (4-4-2) 25-Waterreus; 20-Hutton, 14-Kyrgiakos, 16-Rodriguez, 24-Murray; 17- Burke (Novo 73), 7-Hemdani, 6-Ferguson (Ricksen 85), 9-Prso; 4-Buffel, 15-Boyd (Lovenkrands 66).
Subs Not Used: 1-Klos, 5-Andrews, 31-Namouchi, 34-Smith.
Kilmarnock (4-4-2) 1-Combe; 21-Wilson (4-Lilley 23), 6-Ford, 18-Wright, 3-Hay; 11-Invincibile (7-McDonald 82), 2-Fowler, 12-Johnston, 14Naismith; 20-Di Giacomo, 15-Nish (24-Campbell 80).
Subs Not Used: 13-Smith, 8-Locke, 22-Leven, 26-Bell.
Sent Off: Combe (84).
Booked: Lilley (25), Hay (35), Fowler (67), Johnston (72)
Key Man – Julien Rodriguez – Solid and controlled