Cathro has no worries on Lafferty

IAN CATHRO has no fears about handling Kyle Lafferty’s personality as he backed the striker to produce his best football at Hearts.

The Tynecastle head coach yesterday completed the signings of two full-backs by landing Michael Smith from Peterborough United for a nominal fee and Manchester City youngster Ashley Smith-Brown on a season-long loan.

That continued a positive week of transfer business in which Lafferty was the headline addition on a two-year deal.

The 29-year-old Northern Ireland international has previously had controversial moments on and off the field — and signed at Hearts insisting he had no regrets about snubbing interest from rivals Hibernian.

Cathro, though, feels Lafferty is now at a point in his career where he can be a hugely positive influence on the Tynecastle squad.

‘One of the things that is important to me is that people come here to be themselves,’ said Cathro.

‘There is no point in bringing someone in then asking them to be someone else.

‘Did we do due diligence on Kyle? We always talk to a lot of people. But I didn’t feel a need to do that in any other way than we would with any other player. Not at all.

‘I’m delighted to have Kyle and I think it is always important to focus on the player first and foremost.

‘It is sometimes easy to tell the story or retell some stories that aren’t even true but we have to focus on the player.

‘Athletically, he is probably one of the best and then there is his movement in the box and willingness to just go and to work.

‘He is a strong character and he has personality on the pitch. These are all things I have wanted to bring to the team in that position.

‘He is also someone who is completely ready and at a stage of his life and career where he has a lot of hunger and motivation for a whole lot of reasons.

‘He will take a lead role and handle a wee bit of pressure and the expectations. He has the personality that is needed to wear that No 9 shirt.’

Lafferty — who has scored 20 goals in 61 caps for Northern Ireland — follows Scotland defender Christophe Berra in adding more solid international experience to Hearts this summer.

‘He is comfortable, he is a guy who is ready,’ added Cathro. ‘We have some guys in the squad who are at that point.

‘That is what we set out to do and we will continue to work as privately as we possibly can and do things properly over the next few weeks.’

Cathro played down speculation of that work, including a move for Scotland goalkeeper Allan McGregor, but stopped short of ruling it out altogether.

‘Goalkeeper is an area we are looking at but the biggest focus just now is helping the ones we have improve,’ he said.

‘We are assessing that just now. We are not in talks with any keeper just now but if we can see an area we can improve, we are open-minded.’

The Hearts head coach also insisted he hadn’t given up hope of persuading Jamie Walker to sign a new contract at Tynecastle.

Rangers have seen a bid rejected for the winger, whose existing deal expires at the end of this season.

‘Jamie is our player and he is working well,’ added Cathro. ‘He has a little knock that we have managed and he’s done some good work.

‘There is no story, no news and he is getting himself ready to be better next season.

‘That (contract) is something that has been brought up before and will probably remain a possibility.

‘But the focus just now is on getting everyone together and prepared properly for the new season.’

Smith, the new arrival from Peterborough, has signed a two-year contract. The 28-year-old has one cap for Northern Ireland and feels comfortable joining compatriots Lafferty and Aaron Hughes.

‘The facilities, the stadium, the manager, it all seems like a good fit for me,’ he told Hearts TV.

‘I had a chat with Ian and everything he said was positive and the way he wants to play suits me down to the ground.

‘People who know me will tell you I like to attack so, hopefully, we will get on top of teams this season.’

City prospect Smith-Brown, 21, operates mainly as a left-back and spent last season on loan at Dutch side NAC Breda.

‘I’ve heard good things about the fans here and can’t wait to play in front of them,’ he said.

‘I spoke to Ian and I also had a chat with Craig (Levein, director of football). They only had positive things to say about the club and myself.’