A suspected hamstring injury sustained by Jean-Alain Boumsong in the warm-up had meant a late reshuffle of the side, propelling Zurab Khizanishvili from the bench into the starting line-up.
It was the reintroduction of another former Dundee player, however, that would have the most telling effect on proceedings.
Absent from the previous week’s encounter with Kilmarnock thanks to the efforts of the SFA’s disciplinary committee, it took Novo all of 150 seconds to make up for lost time.
The goal was the perfect showcase for the Spaniard’s predatory instincts after Fernando Ricksen’s cross has ricocheted off David Partridge into his path.
Falling over and with his back to goal, Novo still managed to throw a leg out to hook the ball beyond Barry-John Corr to give Gers an early lead.
While Novo was deservedly gathering praise for his inventiveness, his strike partner Dado Prso was putting in another hard-working shift.
A long searching ball from Marvin Andrews was controlled perfectly on his chest by Prso allowing him to embark on a trademark lolloping run that gradually carried him to the edge of the penalty box where Partridge brought him to his knees.
Ricksen and Bob Malcolm worked the free kick into the path of Gregory Vignal but the Frenchman’s wayward shot sailed harmlessly into the Broomloan Stand.
It was a frustrating waste of a gilt-edged opportunity but it was soon forgotten when Rangers doubled their lead after 15 minutes.
Novo was again the executor after Arveladze had sent him clear with the deftest of passes and the former Dundee man calmly slotted past Corr.
At this stage Motherwell could perhaps feel aggrieved to be two goals down after enjoying a large share of the possession but without having the accuracy required to trouble a keeper of the stature of Stefan Klos.
Their twin strikers Scott McDonald and Ritchie Foran proved to be consistently irksome opponents for the Rangers’ back four and both volleyed wide from dangerous positions before McDonald lumped an effort narrowly over Klos’ crossbar.
Rangers’ most threatening opponent by now, however, seemed to be referee Alan Freeland whose series of baffling decisions drew howls of disapproval from all corners of the stadium.
His most curious intervention was to book Vignal for an alleged dive when he seemed to be sandwiched between two Well defenders – not the sort of Chrismas card greatly appreciated by the Frenchman.
Rangers should have been three to the good before the half-time interval when Novo spurned a fantastic chance for his hat-trick, slashing away at Vignal’s cross like a novice golfer on the first tee at St Andrews only to see the ball trickle away from his foot.
With the Light Blues in such command, the miss seemed to matter little at that stage although there was some cause for concern when Terry Butcher’s men clawed a goal back just four minutes after the interval.
The goal stemmed from a Rangers error, Alan Hutton’s poor header reaching McDonald who curled a sweet shot around Klos from the edge of the penalty box.
Ibrox seemed temporarily paralysed as thoughts of a shock comeback filtered through the ranks of the home support but all fears were soon allayed four minutes on.
Novo this time was the provider, bisecting the backtracking Motherwell defence with a well-timed pass for Arveladze to bullet a low drive past Corr.
The keeper could not really be faulted for any of Rangers’ goals and showed his worth after 69 minutes when he acrobatically parried Arveladze’s volley from point-blank range.
As Rangers continued to press forward for a fourth goal, Corr was equal again to their best efforts as he plunged to purge Ricksen’s fierce effort after another incisive pass from Novo.
A fourth goal duly arrived however moments later. Substitute Thompson was the goalscorer, spinning onto Ricksen’s pass before planting a left-foot shot past Corr to complete the scoring.
Novo should have had his hat-trick in the dying seconds but shot wide when played in by Alex Rae but by then the match was well over as a contest. Roll on 2005.
RANGERS (4-4-2): 1 Klos; 20 Hutton, 15 Khizanishvili, 5 Andrews, 24 Vignal; 2 Ricksen, 12 Malcolm, 14 Mladenovic (A Rae 60), 7 Arveladze; 9 Prso (Thompson 76), 10 Novo
Subs not used: G Smith, Namouchi, Hughes, S Smith, Ross
Booked: Vignal (30), Khizanishvili (40), Malcolm (87)
MOTHERWELL (4-4-2): 15 Corr; 19 Quinn, 5 Craigan, 14 Partridge, 3 Hammell; 17 McBride, 2 Corrigan, 24 Fitzpatrick (Wright 72), 18 Paterson; 9 Foran, 7 McDonald (Burns 72)
Subs not used: Ewings, Cowan, Fagan, Kinniburgh, Keogh
Booked: Foran (50), Partridge (56)
Man of the Match: Nacho Novo