Dado Prso and Stefan Klos may have been denied their final Ibrox farewells but the truth is neither player missed much as Kilmarnock earned a 1-0 win over Rangers.

Steven Naismith grabbed the only goal of the game early in the second half to ensure the three points went back to Rugby Park with the visitors.

The match had 'end of season' written all over it, with both sides having little left to play for as the Bank of Scotland Premier League season draws to a close.

Rangers had already secured second place - and a Champions League spot - with a win over Celtic last week, while Kilmarnock had also fulfilled their ultimate aim of finishing in the top six.

Walter Smith made just one change, Ian Murray replacing the suspended Alan Hutton in the right-back slot.

Of course, the most disappointing absence as far as the home support were concerned was that of Prso, who suffered an ankle injury in training in Friday.

Goalkeeper Klos was also ruled out with a dislocated thumb, meaning both players had to settle for an appearance at the end of the game instead of match action, as they both prepare to bring down the curtain on their Rangers careers.

There was also an appearance from Gavin Rae, who will quit Ibrox at the end of the season in search of first-team football elsewhere.

Kilmarnock made three changes following last week's win over Hibernian. In came Gary Locke, Momo Sylla and Aime Koudou; out went Jamie Hamill, Gary Wales and Willie Gibson.

Kick-off was preceded by a minute silence in memory of former Rangers player Kai Johansen, who lost his battle with cancer at the age of 67.

Once the game was under way, Naismith could have taken advantage of an Allan McGregor slip when he burst through on goal but the Rangers goalkeeper recovered in time to clear the danger.

At the other end, Barry Ferguson latched onto a long ball and unleashed a decent effort from the edge of the box but the shot dipped just over the crossbar.

McGregor was then called into action again to block a Gordon Greer header, after he had connected well with a Locke free-kick in front of goal.

Kilmarnock goalkeeper Alan Combe had had little to do but he reacted quickly to block a point-blank Nacho Novo shot, after the striker had been set up by a decent Brahim Hemdani ball.

Charlie Adam then blasted well over from 10 yards after a period of domination from Rangers.

Grant Murray picked up the first booking of the game for a challenge on Kevin Thomson five minutes before an uninspiring first half came to an end.

Rangers took advantage of the interval to make a substitution, Hemdani making way for Chris Burke.

Burke almost had an immediate impact on the game when he latched onto a Novo ball and surged into the box, only to fire across the face of goal and just wide.

Instead, it was Kilmarnock who took the lead with 53 minutes gone. Murray was the provider with a cross from the right and Naismith did well to send a right-footed half-volley past a helpless McGregor.

At the other end, Adam's attempts to haul Rangers back into the game ended with a yellow card for diving when he went to ground on the edge of the box.

Killie then made their first change of the afternoon when Koudou was replaced by Paul Di Giacomo, while Rangers swapped Novo for youngster Steven Lennon.

Lennon could have snatched a point - and his first senior goal for Rangers - with 10 minutes to go but squandered a great opportunity when he fired straight at the Killie goalkeeper.

The Ibrox side then threw another youngster, Andrew Shinnie, into the action as they chased a late equaliser.

However, Walter Smith's unbeaten domestic record came to an end as Kilmarnock held on for the win.

Teams:

Rangers McGregor, Murray (Shinnie 82), Ehiogu, Weir, Papac,Ferguson, Hemdani (Burke 46), Thomson, Novo (Lennon 66), Boyd,Adam.

Subs Not Used: Robinson, Svensson, Rae, McMillan.

Booked: Adam, Novo.

Kilmarnock Combe, Grant Murray, Greer, Frazer Wright, O'Leary,Sylla, Fowler, Locke (Hamill 89), Koudou (Di Giacomo 66), Nish,Naismith.

Subs Not Used: Harpur, Hay, Dodds, Gibson, Quinn.

Booked: Grant Murray, O'Leary, Nish.

Goals: Naismith 53.

Att: 50,085

Ref: I Brines (Scotland).