"There will be a few changes you'll see, maybe not in personnel, but in how we approach the game.
As Barry Ferguson glanced up at the Rugby Park scoreboard after 15 minutes he must’ve wondered what he’d let himself in for. The words uttered pre-match pre-empting subtle nuances in approach felt worlds away. Ferguson would've only considered survival before thinking about style at this point.
Kilmarnock threatened to swallow this Rangers squad whole who, apparently unsatisfied with all the nadirs served up in recent weeks, looked set for another rendition. Joe Wright powered in an opener from a corner as Jack Butland was blocked so easily and Robin Propper fell to the floor. Minutes later a short Nico Raskin backpass was seized upon by Brad Lyons while Clinton Nsiala offered a meek attempt at a challenge. Total collapse beckoned and it was falling onto the shoulders of a man who’d only arrived in the building a mere 48 hours earlier.
Ferguson stood ash-faced ahead of an animated coaching staff looking for some semblance of leadership, an individual to provide a ledge that would delay the fall in time for some help from the dugout. No one could replicate the ownership Ferguson himself would’ve surely grabbed in Rangers teams so, so much better than this one. Perhaps this is why so many great leaders on the park can struggle to translate those qualities to the dugout - once the whistle blows they are a very helpless, yet solely responsible, individual.
Ferguson did what managers can control and made a big decision. Nsiala had struggled badly with the fight of this opening period and was replaced before the 30-minute mark. While a harsh call the below trendline from the match shows a substitution to be the game's turning point.
As James Tavernier moved to partner Propper, himself very lucky to not be replaced, things calmed down. By full-time the decision to replace Nsiala appeared shrewd. Kilmarnock’s aggressive press made it difficult for the visitors to gain a foothold early on but with each pass you sensed Ferguson’s side gain a little more confidence.
Early on, there was a clear tension between the automatic triggers of a Rangers team who’ve shelled the ball over pressure all season to do the same. Especially under the thumb of a home press that suffocates. Rangers, for that opening period, were a constant juxtaposition. The bench wanted them to keep calm, the team constantly turned the ball over. However, after the half-hour mark, some of the subtle details referenced by Ferguson started to show.
The visitors were more considered in their build-up play and only played long and direct when the opportunity arose, not in panic. Jefte and Ridvan Yilmaz pushed up from full-back while Mohamed Diomande stayed deep alongside Raskin rather than making long, lung-busting runs up the pitch. The width of the full-backs enabled Ianis Hagi and Vaclav Cerny to play narrowly and, as their direct markers followed them, spaces were created down the sides of the defence for one of the strikers to run into. That detail would prove key.
While on paper the line-up looked the same, Rangers played in more of a fluid 4-4-2 compared to the rigid 4-2-3-1 seen often under Philippe Clement. Movement of the front four was unpredictable and given Kilmarnock’s man-marking, that confused the hosts at points to create fresh passing options.
Here's the rigid pass network from the 1-0 loss at Rugby Park under Clement earlier this season - depicting a clear 4-2-3-1 Killie comfortably contained.
And here's the configuration last night. A narrow shape with individuals operating closer together in a loose 4-4-2 unit.
The below GIF, taken 32 minutes into the game, shows one example. Notice the four Rangers midfielders are narrow in the first frame. Diomande is not making lung-busting runs forward and Hagi and Cerny are staying inside the pitch instead of hugging the touchline, dragging in their direct markers to create space out wide. Igamane then makes an inside-to-out run into the vacant right channel while Cerny drifts infield. The pair combine to create a chance that Dessers should score.
Ferguson and his staff wanted Rangers to play forward quickly, knowing a settled Killie block would be hard to shift. However, this simple rotation and its knock-on effect offered a forward passing option constantly. Notice some form of ‘box’ midfield in the example below. Hagi, rather than pulling wide to the left wing, again stays narrow as Igamane gets free to receive on the left wing. It was clear there was an intention to play through, rather than play over, from the back.
Cerny did still make wide runs in moments. Notice in the build-up to the away side’s first goal how Diomande is joining Raskin at the base of midfield to build up. Igamane drops to receive while Cerny gets free of his marker who’s followed him deep. Then able to latch onto a well-weighted Diomande pass who, rather than making a surging run beyond that we’d have seen under Clement, is situated deeper in the pitch to split lines.
Dessers’ second goal of the night features similar themes. Notice again a ‘4-2’ build-up shape. Why does this matter? Because so often under Clement there was no intention to build in the centre. Therefore space out wide was limited because opponents knew they didn’t have to sacrifice bodies to guard against build-up.
Ridvan was a useful build-up option for two goals because he cut cut in on his stronger left foot and play against pressure. Here, the Turkish defender's pass is excellent but only made possible because, rather than being situated wide by the touchline Cerny is narrow infield, taking his man, Corrie Ndaba, with him. This fashions a corridor for Dessers to run into and score. It was a simple yet effective rotation.
Why did this matter? Because football does and it should. Who cares about the big picture when turning a 2-0 disaster into a 4-2 triumph? Ferguson’s job until the summer is to make Rangers fans enjoy football again until the next era begins with solutions to improve the football - last night at Rugby Park that was achieved.
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