Yes, he loves a Laff but he can be serious asset

BARACLOUGH HAS FAITH IN REGGINA STRIKER

IAN BARACLOUGH hopes Reggina new boy Kyle Lafferty merges danger and dynamism with a “daft” reputation when Northern Ireland return to action next month.

Lafferty, a colourful character in the national squad since making his debut as a teenager in 2006, will play in Serie B next season after joining the Italian club a fortnight ago.

Reggina are the 12th club of his career and his fifth in foreign climes following previous spells with Palermo (Italy), Sion (Switzerland), Rizespor (Turkey) and Sarpsborg (Norway).

“I think it’s an exciting move for Laff,” said Baraclough. “He has flourished abroad in the past and I hope he goes on to nail down a starting spot at Reggina.”

Lafferty’s seven-goal spree in qualifying for the Euro 2016 finals in France turned him into a national hero but since then the goals have dried up.

The 32-year-old has gone 17 internationals without one, dating back to the opener in a 4-0 World Cup qualifying win over Azerbaijan in Belfast in 2016.

“I hope he can get back into the kind of scoring form he was in leading up to Euro 2016,” said Baraclough. “If he does we’ll have a player on our hands who is valuable to us.

“Strikers will go through barren spells but as managers and coaches it’s a case of working with them and talking to them.

“Laff is someone who brings different attributes to the likes Conor Washington, Liam Boyce (inset) and Josh Magennis. All these players bring something different to the party so we’ll have to see.

“Players who have been in past squads know they aren’t a shoo-in necessarily. It’ll be my decision based on who’s in form and who best fits into the style of play.”

Baraclough, who succeeded Michael O’Neill after spending three years with the U21s, has worked with Lafferty before when he helped with the senior squad.

And he believes appearances can be deceptive when it comes to the former Rangers striker who has scored 20 goals in 75 games with Northern Ireland.

“You might say Laff ’s different and he can be a bit daft at times,” he said. “But you need people like that in a squad as long as he knuckles down when it comes to working time. I’ve not seen anything different to that when I’ve been part of the squad in the past.

“You probably see a different side to him and he plays up to the cameras but when he’s working he works as hard as anyone else.

“He wants to play, he wants to start and he wants to score goals.”

Northern Ireland return to action with a Nations League double-header against Romania in Bucharest and Norway in Belfast on September 4 and 7.