One year on down long road but life’s good for Laff
KYLE Lafferty has crossed them off day by day, week by week and month by month. He has now been able to mark the year. That is how long it has been since the Northern Irishman last had a bet.
It is a milestone he is rightly proud of, but he will take nothing for granted as he battles his demons.
The first step for Lafferty was admitting that he had a problem. The next was taking steps to solve an issue that could have spiralled out of control.
Lafferty took to Twitter last week to mark a date that will remain in his mind for the rest of his life. On September 11, he wrote: “Never thought I would ever see this day. It’s been one year today since the last time I placed a bet. I was in a dark place and lowest I’ve ever been, and to come out of it and celebrate this achievement is amazing and I’ve never been happier. 365 days.”
Aside from the day he married his wife Vanessa and or when his daughter, Sienna, was born, it is arguably the most important he has had.
“It is just over a year now and back then when I was in the middle of things I would have taken a week off betting,” Lafferty said as he prepared for Rangers’ Europa League clash with Villarreal this evening.
“I have done a year now and it is a long road. At one of my meetings, one of the guys has done 35 years. I was trying to figure out why he had been there for 35 years and he said to me that he could flip and go back on it. It is going to be a long journey but I have my family and friends around me.”
It has been a summer to remember on and off the park for Lafferty as he reached an important milestone and clinched a return to Rangers.
The 31-year-old finds himself content in life and in football. With little Sienna to look after, the one-time headline maker has a new outlook and perspective these days. “Of course, I have got someone else’s life to look after now as well,” Lafferty said.
“I want to give my daughter the best life possible. More at the start, maybe for the first two or three months, there were urges. But my wife has been a tremendous help along the way and my family as well. It is good to have people there to help me.
“It is always impressive to get to the year but there is no point doing a year if next month I have fallen back into it. I just want to take each day at a time and if I get to the second year then that is obviously another massive milestone.”
Having passed his one-year anniversary, Lafferty is now back taking each day as it comes as he keeps clean and keeps on the right road.
His tale could become one of inspiration for those that are troubled by addiction, either to gambling or another affliction. He takes those he hears at his meetings to heart, too.
“Some of the stories are frightening,” Lafferty said. “Some I relate to and some of them I just feel sorry for the people. It is where people that need help go and everyone has been brilliant with me. It is a good place to go. They have taken me in and treated me, from day one, like I am one of them. I am just a normal guy.”
In Villarreal this evening, Lafferty will be anything but a normal guy. Indeed, he will carry the hopes of Rangers on his shoulders.
With Alfredo Morelos suspended, the striker will lead the line for Steven Gerrard’s side as the Ibrox side begin their Europa League group campaign.
Lafferty failed to hit the net in continental competition during his first spell at Ibrox. Now that he is back in blue, he is determined to change that fact. “I haven’t scored in European football and hopefully tonight would be a good start,” he said. “I have played European football in Turkey and Italy and scored goals there.
“With the way I play, I feel it suits my game and hopefully if I get a chance tonight I can put it away. We have been away from European football for a long time now and for a club of Rangers’ size and stature, I think this is where we belong.
“It is going to be hard and Villarreal are a good team, but we are good as well and we have players in the team that can hurt any team.”