Rangers prophecy still unfulfilled as Gers stumble into September to cloud Philippe Clement's crystal ball

Philippe Clement hailed his side’s Malmo moment as proof his October prophecy is right on schedule.

But after watching Rangers stumble out of September, maybe the Ibrox boss might be better rethinking his forecast for his team to find their top form. Clement has been saying since the summer it would take his new-look line-up two to three months to really click together. It looked like he was set to be proven right after watching his side bounce back from their Parkhead pasting with encouraging wins over Dundee United, Dundee and Thursday’s opening Europa League opponents Malmo.

They made it four on the spin with this narrow triumph over David Gray’s Hibs – but it was a performance which highlighted just how far Clement’s side still have to go if they’re to compete against Brendan Rodgers’ swaggering Celts. Tom Lawrence’s sensational strike was enough in the end for the win but it was a far from comfortable outfit up against a Leith outfit who have been stuttering themselves.

In the end, Gers had Jack Butland to thank for their fourth clean sheet in a row. A passenger at the Eleda Stadion in midweek, the former England stopper was the key man as his penalty save from Mykola Kuharevych on the stroke of half-time kept the Light Blues ahead.

Hibs were left to sweat right up until Thursday before it was confirmed they would be handed an allocation of away tickets for the Ibrox clash. But that long wait will have seemed like a blink of an eye compared to the final 10 minutes the Gers faithful were put through. With Hibs piling on the pressure, the clock seemed to run in slow motion for the panicked punters filling the ground to capacity for the first time this season.

Their team got over the line eventually but Clement won’t