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On the weekend which saw the clocks go back, Rangers supporters will hope that Danny Rohl has arrived just in the nick of time.
In his first match at Ibrox since taking charge, the club’s new German head coach guided his team to their first home league victory of the season.
The absurdity of a club like Rangers having to wait until late October to reach that landmark means that nobody will be of a mind to get carried away just yet.
Certainly, any proclamations about Rohl’s new-look side mounting a belated title challenge remain premature at best, given the deficit to those ahead of them and the fact they sit in fifth place.
Rangers trail league leaders Hearts by 13 points, with Celtic still five points ahead despite their own shambolic season plumbing new depths at Tynecastle.
But Rohl will be enthused by much of what he saw in this comfortable victory over Kilmarnock, not least the sight of Youssef Chermiti scoring his first Rangers goal since his big-money move from Everton in the summer.
Derek Cornelius enjoys the moment with Thelo Aasgaard after scoring the opener at Ibrox
Youssef Chermiti celebrates after scoring Rangers' third in a 3-1 victory against Kilmarnock
Danny Rohl cut an animated figure on the touchline during his first home game as head coach
By scoring Rangers’ third goal to make the game safe with 20 minutes to play, it was the first time Chermiti had troubled a scoresheet at club level since May 2023.
It was not a perfect performance by any stretch of the imagination, with occasional defensive lapses and a Jack Butland error allowing Killie back into the game at one point.
But this was nonetheless a clear step forward from not only the Europa League defeat to Brann, but also anything witnessed under Russell Martin.
Rohl cut an animated figure on the touchline. If Rangers looked lazy and disjointed in their pressing under Martin, often leaving themselves wide open, that is unlikely to be the case under the German.
Rangers looked much more cohesive as a unit, with Rohl urging them to be aggressive and win the ball higher up the pitch.
Rohl’s reign may only be in its infancy, but this felt like lift-off in terms of reconnecting the team with a previously disillusioned fanbase.
With a trip to Easter Road to face Hibs on Wednesday, followed by a Premier Sports Cup semi-final against a wounded Celtic at Hampden next weekend, his arrival has come not a moment too soon.
Despite the shambles of what was allowed to unfold under his predecessor, there was enough in this performance to suggest that Rangers could yet salvage something from this season.
On the back of such a dreadful performance in the 3-0 Europa League defeat to Brann on Thursday night, Rohl had only one training session in which to try and engineer some kind of change.
He opted to make three changes to the team from that debacle in Norway, with Mohamed Diomande, Bojan Miovski and Danilo coming in to replace Joe Rothwell, Oliver Antman and Youssef Chermiti.
This was a first start in two months for Danilo, going all the way back to the 6-0 hammering against Club Brugge, and his inclusion alongside Miovski marked a change in shape for Rohl’s new-look side.
Rohl deployed a back three of Derek Cornelius, John Souttar and James Tavernier, with Jayden Meghoma and Djeidi Gassama operating as the wing-backs.
Nico Raskin and Diomande formed the base of the midfield, with Danilo and Thelo Aasgaard playing narrow just behind Miovski in a sort of 3-4-2-1 shape.
Kilmarnock, meanwhile, made two changes from last weekend’s defeat to Hearts. Jamie Brandon and Brad Lyons came into the starting line-up at the expense of James Brown and Liam Polworth.
Rangers started the match well and took the lead on 15 minutes, albeit they were aided by some woeful defending form Killie at a set-piece.
Seeking to defend a Tavernier free-kick from out wide in the left channel, the visitors’ defensive line was far too high and static.
Cornelius was allowed to drift into the penalty area unmarked and the Canadian international made no mistake as he planted a header beyond Edward Beach to notch his first goal since joining Rangers.
The change of shape looked like it suited Rangers. They were overloading Killie in the central areas and looked more solid overall.
But the new system could not legislate for a terrible mistake from Jack Butland which allowed Killie to equalise on 40 minutes.
Greg Kiltie swung in a corner and, as they have done so often in recent times, Rangers looked weak and indecisive in their efforts to clear the danger.
Butland came off his line and attempted to punch the ball away, but got nowhere near it. The Rangers keeper completely flapped at it, with the ball dropping for George Stanger to convert at the back post.
Rangers thought they had restored their lead almost immediately when a bizarre punt up the pitch from Beach cannoned back off Cornelius and allowed Miovski to head in, but it was ruled out by VAR for offside.
That was the only really meaningful contribution from Miovski in what had been a poor first half. He is not yet fully up to speed, with his touch looking very clumsy.
The North Macedonian striker was subbed off at half-time, with young Mikey Moore sent on to replace him in a rejigged Rangers attack.
Danilo was the man tasked with replacing Miovski as the lone central striker – and it paid dividends within five minutes of the restart.
Meghoma sent in a good cross from the left and Danilo had peeled off the back of Killie defender Robbie Deas, steering a header past Beach and in off the post for 2-1.
Having blundered for the Kilmarnock equaliser, Butland went some way to making amends when he got down low to make a good save from a Bruce Anderson header on 57 minutes.
Playing with a renewed sense of purpose and potency, Rangers were probing for a third goal to put the matter beyond doubt.
That it was Chermiti who delivered it only a couple of minutes after coming off the bench brought the loudest cheer of the afternoon.
Much-maligned since his summer move from Everton, the Portuguese striker took aim from 25 yards and unleashed a powerful drive.
Beach made a mess of the save, getting a hand to it but palming it back into the opposite corner of the net. With that, Chermiti and Ibrox breathed a huge sigh of relief.
The atmosphere inside the stadium felt different. This was an upgrade on pretty much everything witnessed on the domestic front under Russell Martin.
For the first time all season, the crowd actually began to enjoy what they were watching, applauding some neat flicks and tricks form the likes of Aasgaard and Moore.
Raskin had a goal ruled out for offside after a neat exchange of passes with Moore as Rangers sought to apply a little more gloss to the scoreline.
But, all in all, it was a satisfactory afternoon for Rohl and his players. Stiffer tests will lie ahead, but, with the Ibrox crowd united in chanting the name of their new head coach, this was a step forward on and off the pitch.
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Rangers (3-4-2-1): Butland 6; Tavernier 6, Souttar 7, Cornelius 7.5, Meghoma 7.5; Diomande 7 (Barron 62), Raskin 7.5, Aasgaard 7.5, Gassama 6 (Aarons 62), Miovski 5 (Moore 46), Danilo 7.5.
Substitutes: Kelly, Rothwell, Chermiti, Cameron, Djiga, Curtis.
Booked: Souttar.
Kilmarnock (5-3-2): Beach 5; Brandon 5, Stanger 6.5, Mayo 5, Deas 5, Thompson 4; Lyons 6, Watson 6.5, Kiltie 6; Dackers 5, Anderson 5.
Substitutes: Oluwayemi, Williams, McKenzie, J. Brown, Tiffoney, Lowery, Schilte-Brown, Brannan, Polworth.
Booked: Dackers, Thompson.
Referee: Kevin Clancy.
Attendance: 49,681.
Man of the match: Jayden Meghoma.
Ends.
