Walter Smith, whose astuteness in both selection and strategic deployment was, arguably, the single most significant factor in his team's success, will himself remember too painfully that Rangers themselves failed to complete the exchange as recently as the closing weeks of last season.

The Ibrox manager has too much experience of the fluctuating fortunes of football to be sucked into presumptuousness, having stressed on the eve of the first Old Firm meeting of the season that it is folly of the highest order to take the result of the fixture in isolation and draw far-reaching conclusions.

Smith was recalling the events of just under a year ago, when Celtic were also comprehensively beaten 3-0 in the corresponding event and Gordon Strachan immediately became the target of vicious criticism from the club's supporters, many insisting on his removal from the job.

"The criticism Gordon took back than shows how nonsensical it is to jump to conclusions after one Old Firm match," Smith had said. "Of course, they're important and everybody involved is desperate to win them, or, at worst, not to lose them. But league championships are won over 38 games, not just one or two."

In the context of the probable destination of this season's title, the challengers' 4-2 triumph the other day was so peculiar to the event itself that it should be regarded as a separate entity, its only relevance to what may occur in the future being the three points that gave the winners a lead over their great rivals by that amount and took them to the top of the table.

Like a made-to-measure suit, this was a Rangers team designed specifically to beat the champions on their own ground, and it could hardly have been a better fit.

The first and most obvious clue to the bespoke nature of Smith's side was the inclusion of Charlie Adam and Daniel Cousin, two names who induced widespread puzzlement when the line-ups reached the press room.

They were, however, blinding illustrations of the manager's art which should – but almost certainly will not – permanently gag those fans who rush to newspaper hotlines, radio phone-ins and websites to tell the world that Smith, or Strachan, or whoever else, is a worthless dud who has no idea what he is doing.

Smith, unlike the vast majority outside Ibrox, was mindful of the generally unreliable Cousin's penchant for performing with distinction on the biggest occasions. This was evidenced in Europe last season, and in the last visit to Celtic Park. The Gabon striker's selection – and his subsequent contribution – was confirmation that good managers, working with players every day in training, know more about their capabilities and their readiness for particular events than anyone else.

As for Adam on the wide left of midfield, he was clearly regarded by his manager as perfectly suited to the role of helping his left-back, Sasa Papac, to curb the threat of Shunsuke Nakamura on Celtic's right. On the other side, Steven Davis was given the same part, assisting Kirk Broadfoot in the shackling of Aiden McGeady and leaving Pedro Mendes and Kevin Thomson to do the midfield prompting that would bring Cousin and Kenny Miller three goals between them and Mendes himself the most spectacular strike of the match.

It was a plan that worked so well that Celtic had no response. By the time Barry Robson left the bench in an attempt to bring some much-needed imagination to the home midfield, Rangers were already 3-1 ahead and in no danger of faltering. The aberration by the Celtic goalkeeper, Artur Boruc, that allowed Miller to complete his double and extend the advantage to 4-1 was simply a symptom of the general disarray into which the champions had fallen by that stage.

Celtic fans may be entitled to a certain concern over their team's apparent inflexibility, their failure to adapt to the demands of the game and counter their rivals' tactics, but justifiably elated Rangers supporters should not expect to see Sunday's team as evidence that Smith suddenly found his strongest XI. Other fixtures will require different tactics and personnel.

And, as neither Celtic nor Rangers could be described as outstanding, both sets of supporters should prepare for the certainty that points – perhaps even in greater numbers than before – will be dropped against reputedly inferior opponents.