Ahead of his first game as senior coach,

Kinsman was open and honest about his team's fortunes

and at the same time used them to motivate the squad who, despite showing signs of their potential in several games, hadn't produced winning form.

But they responded in the best possible way in their 82-71 victory over Perth, and there's a real sense that the Rangers have turned their season around.

The Rangers were second-bottom on the WNBL ladder with a solitary win from eight games before Saturday night.

"The form we had produced [before Saturday] was unacceptable and not up to our expectations and we were facing what could be a disastrous season," Kinsman said.

"The next three games are at home and we will be looking to kick-start our season. It doesn't take a lot to get momentum.

"We've got four or five winnable games before Christmas but conversely, if we drop a few, we are going to be in for a tough year and will need to do some soul-searching to find our way through the rest of the year."

Former head coach Dale Waters will stay on as assistant coach.

Before the Saturday game, Kinsman said there wouldn't be any great change in the way he coached.

"A lot of the concepts Dale and I have been working on have been built up over time, so there's not a great deal of difference in terms of what we are doing.''

Kinsman is a former player with Adelaide 36ers in the National Basketball League, assistant and head coach of the Australian under-19 Gems and assistant coach of the under-21 Sapphires. He has coached for 27 years.