Lafferty has been backed by O’Neill as he prepares to return to Ibrox SCOTTISH NEWS AND SPORTMichael O’Neill, the Northern Ireland manager, has backed Kyle Lafferty to deal with the demands of returning to Ibrox for the first time in five years, when the striker lines up for Hearts this afternoon. The 29-year-old, whose six goals in the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign helped Northern Ireland reach their first major finals for 30 years, is unlikely to be received warmly by Rangers supporters. When the club were plunged into administration and then liquidation in 2012, most of their established international players left Ibrox as free agents, for which few fans have been willing to forgive them. Lafferty moved to Switzerland to join Sion that summer and his defection is unlikely to have been forgotten. However, O’Neill is confident that the forward is…

Source: The Times August 18, 2017 23:15 UTC