Walter was the guy that made my dream to play for my boyhood club come true. To see the smile on his face when we lifted the title will live with me forever
Memories of 2011 glory still special for Kyle
KYLE LAFFERTY still has the match ball sitting pride of place in his games room.
Right beside the strip. And of course the boots that hammered in the hat-trick at Rugby Park to seal a third title in a row for Rangers in dramatic style.
But most important to him is the memory – of making his mentor and hero Walter Smith smile. It was a last-day shootout between the Old Firm big guns just 25 miles apart.
Rangers went into that tension-packed Sunday afternoon at Kilmarnock a point ahead of Celtic who were hosting Motherwell at the same time in the east end of Glasgow.
Victory would cement the title – and give Smith the perfect send-off in his last match as a manager. The rest is history as two Lafferty strikes with a Steven Naismith goal in between had Rangers 3-0 up after just seven minutes.
It ended up a 5-1 canter with Lafferty completing his treble in the 53rd minute after Nikica Jelavic had made it four.
But in terms of the season it’s the last time the Scottish top flight witnessed a genuine title race that kept everyone on the edge of their seats right up to – well, 12.37pm on the final day.
Lafferty came alive in the run-in, blasting in six goals in the final four games and forming a deadly partnership with Jelavic.
It was the third season in a row the Northern Irishman had scored on the day Rangers lifted the title. Now, 11 seasons on, Lafferty, currently with Anorthosis Famagusta in Cyprus, senses another red-hot fight to the end is brewing.
It’s evoking strong memories for the 34-year-old. Lafferty said: “As a player and a fan to go to the final game was exhilarating.
“What made it more special and gave us all the motivation we needed was the fact it was Walter Smith’s last game as a manager. We were desperate to give him a winning send-off.
“He was the guy who made my dream to play for my boyhood club come true. To play my part and see the smile on his face at the end, that’ll live with me forever.
“But I reckon even he couldn’t have imagined the start we would make against a good Killie side.
“He was speechless after the game. Not that there was much talking done anyway because it was party central in the dressing room.
“I’ve always had a knack of going on scoring runs at the end of the season. Everything I touched in those few weeks just seemed to go in.
“I enjoy pressure games so maybe that has something to do with it. And there’s nothing bigger than going into the last game of a season knowing a win wins you the league.
“I’ve still got the match ball, the shirt, the boots, the lot in my house back in Scotland.”
The next Old Firm is looming large on January 2.
But if proof were needed that the destination of the big one can be determined by teams outwith the top two then it was the second half of that 2010-11 season.
Smith’s men lost the New Year derby 2-0 in Govan to fall four points behind Celtic but with two games in hand. It got even
worse for them by the time the next Old Firm at the end of February as a 3-0 Hoops win moved Neil Lennon’s side eight points clear, with Rangers still having two games in hand.
But a Celtic defeat at Motherwell offered the Ibrox side hope. By the start of May it was the Hoops who were a point behind but with a game in hand away to Terry Butcher’s Inverness.
However, a shock 3-2 defeat in the Highlands swung the title strongly in Rangers favour with three games left.
Lafferty said: “The two defeats to Celtic were a massive blow. But Walter kept telling us we were good enough to claw it back.
“Everyone wanted to fight for him, to come off the pitch knowing we’d left everything on it. At no stage did I think we’d lost the league.
“Being a Rangers player and a Rangers fan you know there’s no second place.
“I remember sitting at home and seeing the result when Celtic lost at Inverness. Going crazy because we were running out of games then suddenly it’s back in your hands.
“It just proves these games that might not appear that important on paper can have a massive impact.”
Lafferty can see this race going the distance too. Which will be great for the Scottish game given the lack of late drama at the top of the table in recent seasons.
But it will come as no surprise who he reckons will eventually cross the line first.
Lafferty said: “Rangers. It’ll be far tighter than last season for sure and could go right to the wire.
“But if you look at the two squads player for player then I think Rangers are stronger through the whole group.
“Steven Gerrard going was a massive loss. He transformed the whole club and left them in a good position for Gio to hit the ground running.
“They’ll pick up the points they need in the derbies and crucially will win more points outside the Old Firm games which, as we found in 2011, is crucial.”