GROWING UP GRACEFULLY
With gambling issues behind him and loving his new role as a father, Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill believes that, at long last, Rangers striker Kyle Lafferty is...
WHEN Rangers continue their Europa League adventure in Spain tomorrow night, the most experienced outfield player in Steven Gerrard’s squad will be the one man least likely to be described as mature.
Kyle Lafferty, who is expected to start up front against Villarreal in place of the suspended Alfredo Morelos, defers only to goalkeeper Allan McGregor in terms of minutes played in group stage continental football for the Ibrox side.
Yet there are indications that this often colourful, controversial and polarising figure could finally be showing signs of growing up and settling down.
Last month, Lafferty and his wife Vanessa were delighted to welcome new baby daughter Sienna. Their joy was enhanced when, in time for the closing of the August transfer window, the 31-year-old secured a sought-after return to Rangers from Hearts.
A self-confessed gambling addict, Lafferty then confirmed earlier this month via Twitter that it had been a year since he last placed a bet.
‘Never thought I would ever see this day,’ he wrote on September 11. ‘I was in a dark place and the lowest I’ve ever been. To come out of it and celebrate this achievement is amazing and I’ve never been happier.’
On the recent international break, his Northern Ireland boss certainly detected a more relaxed and happy Lafferty.
Last night, Michael O’Neill backed the front man to be a big-game player for Rangers in the club’s first group stage campaign since Champions League ties against Manchester United, Valencia and Bursaspor in 2010.
‘I know Kyle Lafferty is in a really good place right now,’ O’Neill told
Sportsmail. ‘I definitely detect that he’s more content. During the international break, he was at the hotel with Vanessa and Sienna, his new baby daughter, and he looked very happy.
‘He’s been very open about his battle with gambling and it’s great to see he seems to be on top of that now. Footballers can get bored when they don’t play and Kyle spent three years at Norwich when he was earning decent money but not playing much football.
‘But he went on to rebuild himself in a year at Hearts, which is a credit to Kyle and a credit to Hearts as well. Going there was the right move at the right time for him but his ambition has always been to get back to Rangers.
‘If you had given Kyle a choice of where in the world he wanted to play his football, there would be nowhere else for him than Rangers. Now he is back at Ibrox, I do see a boy that is content, focused and hungry to make the most of it.
‘He definitely has the potential to be a really big player for Rangers — in Europe as well as domestically.’
A big-game player, Lafferty’s first spell at Rangers saw him score title-clinching goals in 2009, 2010 and 2011. With seven goals in qualifying for Euro 2016, he was the talismanic figure as Northern Ireland reached their first major national finals since the World Cup in Mexico in 1986.
O’Neill looks back especially fondly upon the striker’s dominant goalscoring performance in a 2-0 win over Greece in Piraeus in 2014. That night, he was up against Kostas Manolas, whose headed goal last season knocked Barcelona out of the Champions League as Roma miraculously overhauled a 4-1 deficit to reach the semi-finals.
Citing that back catalogue of big performances, the Northern Ireland boss believes Lafferty is ideally suited to leading the line in the Europa League.
‘It’s important to have a striker like Kyle, especially away from home when you sit a little deeper,’ he said.
‘In Greece that night, he was absolutely unplayable. He was up against Manolas of Roma and Kyriakos Papadopoulos of Bayer Leverkusen and he tore them apart. He ran them ragged that night.
‘He was also excellent away in Hungary, scoring the winner and setting up the first. He just seems to enjoy games when he is a little bit isolated. He rises to the challenge. He likes to create something out of nothing.
‘In games like that, teams leave spaces in the channels and Kyle’s got great running power. One thing you could never level at him is a lack of work ethic.
‘I could accuse him of other things that I would like him to do better, like his movement or whatever it may be, but I would never point the finger at his work ethic. So with Rangers likely to play a little bit deeper away from home in Europe, that’s precisely where Kyle thrives.’
Lafferty scored 20 goals in 48 appearances for Hearts, which represents the most prolific period of his career.
His return to form and Rangers is good news for Northern Ireland. He started in the recent 2-1 Nations League loss to BosniaHerzegovina in Belfast before missing out on the 3-0 home friendly win over Israel.
In addition to his domestic and career bliss, O’Neill believes Lafferty’s advancing years have made him more reflective of the fact a footballer’s career does not last forever.
‘I do think once you hit 30 or 31, you start to think a bit differently about the game and about your career,’ he said.
‘I think he understands that he is not going to play every single game (for club and country). The key is when you do play to try and have a real impact, from the start or off the bench.
‘Kyle has already shown how hungry he is to do that at Rangers. I watched his debut at Motherwell and he was excellent, scoring twice in a 3-3 draw.
‘And he played well for us against Bosnia-Herzegovina before we rested him for the friendly with Israel.
‘Look, Kyle still has his moments but there is nothing wrong with that. When you are in a hotel for ten days with the national team it’s good to have a guy like that who brings a bit of life to proceedings.
‘But I do think Kyle is more content with life now. And that can only be good for Rangers and Northern Ireland.’