Kyle Lafferty just needs to be loved!
Trevor Carson says he will relish the prospect of trying to deny Kyle Lafferty a winning domestic return with Rangers at Fir Park this afternoon. The Motherwell keeper is a Northern Ireland team-mate of the Light Blues’ latest buy and knows him well, the pair having come up through the country’s age-level system together. “I have played alongside Kyle since the Under-16s,” said Belfast-born Carson. “He was just what he’s like now – a bit crazy, a good lad and great player. “Sometimes you don’t know what you’re going to get with him. “I think, especially for Northern Ireland over the years, he’s been a great player. “He’s the type that does need that arm around his shoulder and needs to be loved. “He’ll probably get that at Rangers. I think he’ll be great for them. “I would give him a wee text to go easy on me, but he is not type to do that. “Anyway, our defenders have played against him before, so there won’t be any real panic stations. “We have worked on a few things of our own to cause them problems.” The 30-year-old comes from a Rangers-supporting background, with several of his friends and family supporters of the Govan club. So he has kept a keen eye on the progress made under Steven Gerrard. His early impressions? Opposition teams can expect a much tougher battle against them this season. “They’ve spent a lot of money and if you spend that sort of cash you do expect improvements. And, quite clearly, there have been improvements,” he said. “It’s definitely going to be a tougher test. “For me personally, going up against Rangers for the first time last year was a bit underwhelming. “Even though they beat us 2-1, it was one of those that sort of gave you a bit of confidence with the thought: ‘Is that all they’ve got?’. “But this year, there’s definitely been an improvement. They’ve got a lot of talented players.”