Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill admits he is thrilled for Kyle Lafferty after the striker sealed a dream return to Rangers.
Lafferty rejoined the Ibrox club on Monday on the back of notching 20 goals in 13 months at Hearts, including four against Celtic.
O’Neill yesterday named the 30-year-old in his squad for next month’s matches against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Israel and hopes the player’s form at domestic level can be replicated for his country.
O’Neill said: “It’s a great move for him, coming back to Scotland is what Kyle needed.
“Hearts was fantastic for him and they take a lot of credit for getting back playing again and scoring goals.
“He had three years where his game time at Norwich was very limited and he really embraced the challenge when he came back to Hearts.
“Kyle just needs to take his Hearts form to Rangers, it’s as simple as that and if he does that he will be a huge success.
“I know how much (Rangers manager) Steven Gerrard and (assistant manager) Gary McAllister rate him and I think they like the fact that Kyle has proven to be a scorer of big goals in big games and that’s what you need if you go to a club the size of Rangers.
“I’m excited for him because I know how much it means to him to go to Rangers and hopefully we see that reflected when he comes away with his country.”
