Rangers-Kilmarnock verdict: Line in Ibrox sand, Chermiti should not get full focus and Rohl's chants

Just their second league win of the campaign, goals from Derek Cornelius, Danilo and Youssef Chermiti ensured the club’s new German boss was able to celebrate his first home game in charge of the Glasgow giants with a much-needed victory.

While the 36-year-old head coach was steadfast in his belief that the victory was but a small step on a journey, there’s no doubting the weight it lifted off the club’s collective shoulders.

Following the game, we look at the key talking points from Rangers' win against Kilmarnock on Sunday:

Rangers draw line in the sand

The summer takeover from Andrew Cavenagh has often felt like an ongoing nightmare, so it’s quite poetic that this pivotal week in his short ownership came in the lead-up to Halloween. Akin to the next instalment of the Scream franchise, Ibrox has been a mix of tension and self-parody this season. But who is to blame for the demise of Rangers? CEO Patrick Stewart, sporting director Kevin Thelwell, and the players have all been in the firing line. Everyone has been a suspect.

The focus must be on how the narrative changes from here on in, though. It's been said almost on a reel - ‘you have to win games at Rangers’. Röhl has got his first. Now the club must draw a line in the sand, move on from their dreadful start, and win their next match against Hibs. Fans will demand nothing else.

Chermiti takes the headlines - but another deserves credit too

Chermiti’s first goal in a Rangers shirt will take the bulk of the headlines. Sure, it was fortuitous, but sometimes that’s the luck you need. The club’s big summer signing at £8.5million, his early struggles in front of goal has been a stick with which to beat sporting director Thelwell in recent weeks.

The club’s worst start to a league season since 1978 resulted in the Ibrox faithful going through his summer recruitment with a fine comb - and understandably so. After scoring his first goal against Kilmarnock, though, Chermiti looked a different prospect, with his confidence almost immediately skyrocketing. Everyone associated with Rangers Football Club will hope it can prove to be the start of a major turnaround for the Portuguese hitman.

However, it should not be forgotten how big a moment it was to see Danilo bag his first league goal of the season. The Brazilian is often the forgotten man, with a combination of injuries in his first two years curtailing any progress he’s been able to make since joining for a fee of £6million back in the summer of 2023. The 26-year-old had scored 27 goals in the Eredivisie for both Feyenoord and FC Twente prior to his arrival at Ibrox, and has shown his goal-scoring ability in flashes during his time in Glasgow. However, should he remain fit, Rangers will hope both he and Chermiti can take heart from their strong performances against Kilmarnock.

Rohl-ling with it

Introduced to an increasingly apathetic Rangers fanbase on Tuesday, Röhl sat between Cavenagh and Thelwell in the Ibrox press room as the latter openly admitted to ‘underestimating’ the sheer enormity of the football club. Eighth in the table ahead of kick-off, Rangers had failed to win a home game in the league, and had just one win - vs bottom of the table Livingston - in their last eight Scottish Premiership games.

While his side’s 3-0 defeat against Brann in the Europa League on Thursday night did little to lift spirits, it did ensure the German was fully aware of the mess he had inherited. A club who was sleepwalking into mediocrity under Russell Martin, the weeks and months ahead will be tough and arduous for the German boss as he looks to reverse the club’s fortunes, but Rohl looks ready for the challenge.

It felt like the ex-Sheffield Wednesday boss sneaked into the Ibrox main entrance almost unnoticed. Seemingly third in line to the Rangers throne, he arrived amid a clamour for the return of former Rangers favourites Steven Gerrard and/or Kevin Muscat. When he was introduced to fans via Tuesday’s press conference, he felt like a support act to chairman Cavenagh and the heavily scrutinised pair of Thelwell and CEO Patrick Stewart.

That said, he’s clearly made a good early impression on Rangers fans in the early days of his reign. Clear, concise and realistic in his early interviews, his passionate encouragement on the sidelines against Kilmarnock was endearing, and addictive. He may not have been many fans’ first choice, but he’s already managed to garner some harmony with the fans chanting his name in his opening two games.

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