STEVE Clarke could probably give Santa Claus a run for his money in the popularity stakes in this corner of Ayrshire this Christmas time. Having seen off one Rangers manager in his first game in charge – the dramatic last-gasp 1-1 draw at Ibrox in September did for Pedro Caixinha – Clarke set about dismantling the reputation of his replacement Graeme Murty in his first match since being given charge of Rangers until the end of the season. What he delivered for Kilmarnock’s long-suffering supporters yesterday was the early Christmas present of a first win against the Ibrox club for five years. It was also the first time in a decade that the club had won three home matches in a row.

All this jubilation in home areas was in marked contrast to a sizeable travelling support for whom festive cheer is suddenly in short supply. For the second week in a row, Rangers surrendered a lead to succumb to defeat. With the visit to Celtic Park looming, the visit of Motherwell to Ibrox in midweek raises the spectre of an almost unheard-of sequence of four straight defeats.

“The problem is the basic stuff," said Murty, with typical honesty. "When we do that well we look a good team. When we're sloppy and slack, we invite pressure on ourselves. We didn't pass the ball well enough. We didn't deal with balls loaded into the box with enough authority at times. I'm looking at the squad and expecting a level of understanding and competence. At times we show it and they're on the right level – but we manage somehow to shoot ourselves in the foot.”

While it took two late goals from former Rangers hero Kris Boyd to cancel out Declan John’s first-half opener, this was anything but an act of theft. In truth, save for a five-minute spell after Rangers got their goal, Kilmarnock bossed this match. Wes Foderingham had a good half dozen saves before his net was breached twice in the space of three minutes by the evergreen Boyd.

“It is always nice to win, always nice to beat the Old Firm, but it’s really nice to win three home games in a row because people used to tell me we couldn’t win here at Rugby Park so we’re slowly putting that one to bed," said Clarke. “All I’ve said to the players is just about maximising the moment when things are going for you. It’s a bit like Celtic with their 69 games – I’m not saying we’re going to do 69 games but it’s all about maximising that moment. I don’t think there’s anybody in the stadium who could say we didn’t deserve to win."

Murty was suited and booted – rather than just his usual tracksuit – for the first match of this brave new era – or his 16th match in all, but the day only emphasised the scale of the task he has on his hands. He opted to make two changes – with David Bates and Lee Hodson coming in for the suspended Ryan Jack and Bruno Alves, who once again had reported injured pre-match – paying Kilmarnock the respect of lining up with two solid banks of four and attempting mainly to play on the counter-attack.

This meant a tough shift for the Ibrox side’s two-man central midfield pair of Jason Holt and Ross McCrorie against the graft and craft of Kilmarnock’s three-man group, with Youssuf Mulumbu, a veteran of Clarke’s West Brom days, in particular putting in the kind of accomplished midfield display rarely seen in Scottish football.

Another battle was unfolding on the flanks, where Jordan Jones had orders to attack the space behind James Tavernier. Referee Willie Collum produced a yellow card when the Ibrox full-back lunged in on the Northern Ireland winger after one dash down the left and might have produced a second for a similar incident shortly afterwards.

Kilmarnock were the better team in that first half but they trailed at half time. A rare moment of quality from the visitors saw Daniel Candeias play in Josh Windass down the right and his cut-back was gleefully stuck away by the right foot of John, another man who had extended a contract on Friday.

Rangers would work a few glaring openings to get that killer second goal on the counter-attack but Kilmarnock still sensed this match was there for them. Foderingham had blocked a succession of efforts by Boyd, Eamonn Brophy and Stephen O’Donnell as Killie laid siege on the visitors’ goal before the dam finally broke. The classy Mulumbu steered a pass over the top for Brophy to chase and his cross was smartly tucked away by Boyd.

The din had barely subsided by the time the big striker, who had been rather awoken yesterday morning by a text message from his old boss Bobby Williamson who is battling cancer in India, doubled his money. Mulumbu’s scuffed shot was going nowhere until the veteran stuck out a leg and diverted it into the top corner.

“Bobby was a big influence on my career,” said Boyd. “Not just for myself, but for the full town of Kilmarnock. It’s a difficult period for him but from the messages we exchanged with each other this morning, he’s on the road to recovery. Hopefully he can get through that and we can see him back here in the future.”