Everything in the garden's rosy. Well, except for the Ibrox lawn that very nearly spoiled Walter Smith's Ibrox homecoming.

Everything in the garden's rosy. Well, except for the lawn that very nearly forced an abandonment midway through Walter Smith's Ibrox homecoming.

As Paul Le Guen unpacked the boxes in his Brittany townhouse, Rangers slogged out the kind of victory that had seemed beyond them under the Frenchman's ill-fated revolution. Now, the reformation.

Amid claims of a culture chasm within the dressing room, the irony of five goals all scored by Scottish players would not have been lost on Le Guen or his successor.

Barry Ferguson, vilified by a section of the support for his part in the Murray Park pantomime, returned as captain and, more importantly for his new manager, a midfield dynamo.

His failure to heed instruction was a key element in him being stripped of responsibility. Yet Smith restored Ferguson to the captaincy and was rewarded with a performance of contemptuous verve. Kris Boyd, the other half of Le Guen's perceived axis of evil, convinced Ally McCoist that imitation is the best form of flattery.

The striker endured a wretched first half and at one stage was in danger of submerging into the porridge-like Ibrox pitch. He survived a hamstring scare and overcame the embarrassment of consistently wandering offside and executing goalmouth gaffes to embolden his claim as the heir apparent.

As the public announcer dusted down an old copy of Super Ally, the returning hero singularly emitted enthusiasm to a crowd that has been understandably subdued amid the wreckage of the domestic season thus far.

McCoist immersed himself in the action and was a compelling sight to behold. He celebrated each goal like his own and reserved a special satisfaction when Boyd's predatory streak paid off.

Notwithstanding the traditionally invigorating effect of a new manager, who elected to divide his time between directors' box and dugout, Rangers seemed liberated by the changing of the guard.

After habitual failures against bottom-six clubs, allied to an unwillingness to perform the necessary menial labour throughout the season, this was a bamboozling show of effort and willing in farcical conditions.

It was left to Alan Hutton to explain the change in attitude and application. While Le Guen preferred a thoughtful and quiet pre-match routine, the squad have been given greater licence to express themselves since the new regime took over last Wednesday. They will have to continue to earn their privileges.

"The atmosphere has been brilliant the past couple of days. The manager was looking for a reaction and that's what he got. Everybody has been smiling and laughing and joking around and getting on well. Maybe we just needed that shake-up," said Hutton.

"He Le Guen was a different manager and he preferred everybody to be focused on the game. At the moment, it is a bit more relaxed with the music on in the dressing room and the place buzzing again."

With Boyd still serving a driving ban, Hutton has become a chauffeur and confidant during a week of pillorying and innuendo. Branded an undesirable by Le Guen and accused of having sicknotes forged on his behalf by the former club doctor, Ian McGuinness, Boyd responded the only way he knows how: two goals to take his season's total to 17 and his overall ratio to a goal a game since joining from Kilmarnock a year ago.

"Kris is a goal machine and belongs in the box. All that stupid talk of sicknotes was a lot of rubbish and it has never been like that," said Hutton. "I remember when the story first appeared, he was absolutely gutted and just went up to his room. He was very hurt by the suggestions but got on with his job."

Boyd, especially in such adverse conditions, is hardly the most graceful sight. Yet, unmistakably, he is among a dying breed of instinctive goalgetters. An hour's worth of toil seemed destined to prove fruitless but his contribution gave Rangers sheen. He scored the third and fourth goals within 10 minutes of each other: a composed finish from Nacho Novo's cutback followed by an arrowed header from Ian Murray's cross.

He could have at least doubled his tally but instead turned provider for Ferguson to celebrate his return to power. Dundee United were masters of their own downfall, an unsurprising development for a team that has consistently flattered to deceive.

They adapted quickest to the conditions and caused familiar chaos around the Rangers defence. Alas, their endeavour was shortlived and the irreparable damage self-inflicted. Their risky offside strategy frustrated Dado Prso and Boyd in the early stages but it malfunctioned spectacularly after 22 minutes. Derek Stillie tried to thwart oncoming traffic but his ill-advised swipe succeeded only in inviting Charlie Adam to stroke into an empty net from 35 yards.

It was the start of an impressive day's work for the midfielder, who delivered a delightful array of crosses into the United penalty box throughout and was not slow in getting his hands dirty, either. Jon Daly, United's lone striker, worked tirelessly to redeem the situation, assisted by Collin Samuel and Craig Conway, but to Craig Levein's chagrin they imploded after 35 minutes.

Adam's tantalising cross to the far post was missed by Stillie and Boyd before Stuart Duff sank into to the turf, leaving Chris Burke with a simple header. Prso's weary body surrendered in the quagmire but the Croat's loss was Novo's gain. The Spaniard was mesmerising, full of pace, purpose and peskiness. Even in spite's of Boyd's bounty and Ferguson's driving leadership, Novo was still Rangers' most effective workman.

For United, a predictable lapse into their old ways. Having watched Ian McCall, Gordon Chisholm and Craig Brewster pay for a parlous run of results, Levein is not about to become the next victim.

"Far too often these players have been beaten by scorelines that are unacceptable," he raged. "I will just get rid of them. My job is to nip this in the bud and already I have seen people hide and find ways to cheat.

"How many new players do I need? Fourteen. Anybody who wants to change my mind had better act quickly."

Suddenly, the Rangers job doesn't seem so bad after all. In fact, all that was missing from Smith's perfect day was a goal from Filip Sebo. The more things change . . .