The suspicion in the opening weeks of the campaign became the fear at the midway point. Come the end of it, Rangers may well pay the price for the decisions made at both junctures. Even if Philippe Clement’s side can score enough goals to win their games, doubt remains over whether they score enough to win the Premiership.

The victory over Kilmarnock on Sunday was a case in point. The job was done in one regard as the deficit to Celtic was cut to three points once again, yet the 4-1 victory did nothing to address the elephant in the room. It is one that Clement knows cannot be ignored any longer.

The issue of goal difference has been somewhat overlooked in recent weeks as the focus has shifted from game to game and as Rangers have squandered points and then collected them. That gap to Celtic has always been spoken about in terms of the Old Firm fixture at Parkhead and how a win would eradicate a shortfall that Clement’s side only have themselves to blame for being there in the first place. At this stage of the campaign, the goal difference advantage in Celtic’s favour is worth an extra point and that is a concern that is now staring Rangers in the face.

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“I think it is now the moment to speak about that,” Clement said after goals from Fabio Silva, Ben Davies, Tom Lawrence and John Souttar saw his side recover from the double whammy of a James Tavernier own goal and penalty miss at Ibrox. “If we focused on that before these games it was not of big importance because you focus more and more and more on that and first of all it is about getting the three points. It is now for next week to go full for three points and after that we can speak about those things.”

Unlike last weekend, it was Celtic who had the chance to land the first blow in the title race this time around. Rangers’ 2-1 win at St Mirren was followed by a Celtic win to the same score line against Dundee. On Saturday, Brendan Rodgers saw his side score three without reply at home to Hearts as both leads were enhanced. Rangers did the most important bit by moving onto 81 points on matchday 35, but this was not a completely satisfactory day at the office for Clement.

Chance creation was once again not an issue for Rangers. Finishing was, though. That is, of course, not a new issue. Quite simply, Rangers don’t score enough goals and it says it all about their position at present that even netting four against one of the form teams in the division can been seen in a negative light.

It would be nonsense, of course, to suggest that every shot is going to end up in the back of the net or that Clement’s side will win by six or seven goal margins every week. Some fixtures are there to be taken care of more emphatically, though, and playing against a side that are reduced to 10 men after 22 minutes is one of those occasions.

The penalty miss from Tavernier can also, and perhaps should, be characterised as a fine stop from Will Dennis. It was not the only save that the keeper made on a day where Rangers recorded 41 shots at goal. Less than half of them, just 15 in fact, were on target, while 17 were blocked and nine never looked like troubling the visitors.

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Cyriel Dessers was the main culprit once again. This was a very Dessers-like day. The striker must go to bed at night with the cries of ‘shoot!’ ringing in his ears. Somehow, he failed to do that when it mattered most, and Rangers were grateful for a scrambled finish from Davies and Souttar header in the end. Silva’s strike was neat but hardly the kind of achievement – as he scored just his fifth goal for Rangers – to merit a celebration that will provoke a debate. Lawrence’s effort was the pick of the bunch, an emphatic finish coming at the end of an incisive attack.

That made sure of the points and Clement could be pleased with the reaction in the face of adversity. From then on, it was a case of how many Rangers would win by. In the end, the answer was probably not enough. The sight of players casually getting into position to take corners or throw-ins would have irked many.

When Ross County made the trip to Ibrox in February, Clement’s side knew a three-goal margin of victory would take them top of the table. On that occasion, some 21 shots on target were registered as a plethora of bad misses and good saves thwarted Rangers. It was an opportunity spurned. Sunday felt the same as the status quo remained in the title race.

After the lacklustre performances against Ross County, Dundee and St Mirren in recent times, there was a positive to be taken in the fact that Rangers operated with more purpose at times here. There were moments, however, where they did look or feel like an outfit that could smell blood and were ready to pounce.

The final result was one that many would have taken before a ball was kicked. Once the final whistle had been blown, the merits of the outcome could be debated. It felt like Rangers were in something of a grey area where they could be pleased and disappointed at the same time.

“Frustration is a bad word if you score four goals,” Clement said when he addressed the goals that were scored and the chances that were not taken. “Of course you want more goals like any manager. But I know also that teams struggle against a team of ten who are all defending to create these opportunities. So in that way we did a lot of things good and scored good goals. We missed a penalty and it should have been five. Efficiency is never perfect. You have maybe one or two games in your career as a manager where every chance is a goal. I didn’t have this moment yet, so I am hoping maybe next week or the next couple of months it will happen once.”

It is unlikely that such a moment will come at Parkhead. If Celtic take anything from the fourth Old Firm of the campaign, that will be that in terms of the title race. The derby presents an opportunity for Rangers to eradicate one deficit and eat into another, but it is a day where a win secured by any margin and any means is all that really matters for Clement. Even then, Rangers are likely to require a favour.

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The Belgian insisted his are ‘going to fight until the very end’ in the Premiership. That was the message and the mindset before Sunday and it will be reinforced in the coming days during the build-up to a defining fixture. Clement has been encouraged by the manner in which Rangers have recovered from their setbacks against County and Dundee but will know himself that more dropped points will spell the end for his side.

Rangers have failed to capitalise on their chances and seize the opportunities too often over the course of the season. Parkhead represents their last shot at glory, perhaps their final moment of reckoning. Once again, the fear is that they don’t have enough goals to achieve their goals.