DEREK Johnstone today told Rangers they are strong enough to win the Ladbrokes Championship already – and urged the Ibrox club to land Scott Allan for FREE in January.

The Gers have had two bids of £175,000 and £225,000 for the central midfielder rejected by their second tier opponents Hibs.

The Easter Road club have stated they will not sell their prized asset to their main rivals for promotion to the top flight.

Light Blues great Johnstone reckons the Glasgow giants should test the Edinburgh club’s resolve with a final offer of £250,000.

However, he was impressed with how Mark Warburton’s side played in their 6-2 win over Alan Stubbs’ team in the first round of the Petrofac Training Cup on Saturday.

New signings Andy Halliday and Jason Holt both performed superbly in the middle of the park as Warburton's charges ran riot.

And the Barcelona Bear reckons they will be able to complete “The Journey” and return to the Premiership without Allan.

The SportTimes columnist said: “I think Rangers are good enough to win the Championship even if they don’t sign Scott Allan.

"Their midfield was superb on Saturday against Hibs. They did very, very well.

“There is cover there as well. Tom Walsh can come in and Andy Murdoch has been playing for the under-20 team and has a lot of first team experience.

“Scott Allan would be a worthy addition to the squad if he was to come in. But I think Rangers are capable of doing it without him.

“If they display the same work of application, pace and willingness to work as they did against Hibs at the weekend then of course they’re capable."

Johnstone reckons trying to hang on to Allan, a lifelong Rangers fan who is desperate to join his boyhood heroes, could have serious repercussions for Hibs.

And the Gers legend believes his old club should attempt to bring him to Govan one last time before turning their attentions to bringing him in in January.

Johnstone added: “Hibs can’t be seen to be deceiving the fans on this issue. If they say he isn’t going anywhere then they have to stand by that.

“I think Rangers should offer £250,000 for him and then, if that is rejected, they should sign him on a pre-contract on January 1.

“That will create problems for Hibs if they are up near the top of the division challenging for the title and for promotion.

“How is he going to fare in the second half of the 2015/16 campaign knowing that he is going to be a player at Rangers the following season?

“I doubt Rangers will get him given everything that Hibs have said, but I think Rangers should go in one more time and test them all the same.”