Reader TTS

FORMER IBROX HITMAN IS DESPERATE TO LAND SILVERWARE FOR THE JUNIOR SIDE TWO YEARS AFTER DROPPING DOWN THE RANKS. 06:00, 01 Jun 2025 Former Rangers striker Kyle Lafferty has urged whoever the

new manager is to ensure they have a Scottish football insider by their side or risk being overwhelmed by the job. Lafferty reckons lessons must be learned from last season where too many

new signings struggled to adapt to the demands of the domestic scene. His former Gers and Northern Ireland team mate Steven Davis was linked with a coaching role as part of a potential

Steven Gerrard return. And Lafferty said: “They definitely need someone in there who understands the club and league. “I know bringing in foreign players is difficult. They might not realise

how big the club is. They might arrive thinking Scottish football isn’t the greatest league in the world. “But it’s tough. I’ve played in it for many years and there’s a lot of good

players, young and old. Experienced players. Article continues below “It is tough to hit the ground running. Some of the players took a wee while to warm up. “But yeah, having someone who

knows the club, has a bit of authority and isn’t afraid to pull someone up if they’re not performing - that’s needed around the club. “Ancelotti is a top name. His dad has been one of the

best managers in the world.” Barry Ferguson steered Gers to the end of the season as interim boss following Philippe Clement’s sacking in February but after winning just six of his 15 games

in charge was told his services were no longer required. Lafferty reckons his old team mate did a solid job. But it was one of Ferguson’s first comments after taking charge that was most

telling. He said: “When Fergie got the job I knew there’d be a massive improvement. And there was. “In one of his first interviews he hit the nail on the head. He said it wasn’t that the

players weren’t good enough, they just couldn’t live with the expectations of playing for such a big club as Rangers. “But every single game they were underdogs they went out and performed.

Against Celtic they dominated the game. “But whenever the expectation was them having to win it became a bit too much for them. “Listen, Ibrox is a difficult place to play. You need to hit

the ground running. “I think a lot of players arrived not knowing how big the club was. But they soon realised. It’s tough place to play.” Lafferty’s trophy cabinet may be bulging with three

Scottish Premiership gongs, a Scottish Cup winners’ medal, two League Cups, Serie B and the Scottish Championship title. But the former Ibrox striker and Northern Ireland legend insists

adding a Junior Cup gold to the collection with Johnstone Burgh would mean as much as anything he’s ever achieved. Few, if any, players as decorated at the top level as Lafferty have ever

graced the stage which lies ahead at Broadwood Stadium this afternoon as Burgh tackle Tranent. It’s been 57 years since the Keanie Park club last lifted the famous trophy - and 25 years

since they were last in the final. But with 3000 fans set to follow them through to Cumbernauld, Lafferty feels the weight of expectation. And he’s as hungry to deliver as he has been on any

big occasion in a career that’s taken him from Rangers, Burnley, Palermo, Norwich, Sunderland, Hearts and Kilmarnock. Not to mention 89 caps for his country and a run to the quarter finals

of Euro 2016. But asked if winning in front of 4500 fans this afternoon would mean just as much, the 37-year-old said: “Yeah, 100 per cent. It is another medal that will go in the cabinet.

“It might not be the biggest competition that I have played in, but it is a medal. I am playing for Johnstone Burgh and I have come here to win trophies and collect medals. “There has been a

lot (of finals) and I have been quite lucky to win the majority of them but I know how important the Scottish Junior Cup is for the club. “That was one of the first things they said to me

when I came here, that they were desperate to win it again.” Lafferty has come to the end of his second season at the West of Scotland Premier League side who finished third behind Clydebank

and Auchinleck in the table. Swapping packed stadiums at Ibrox and Windsor Park for wide open terraces around the non-league level hasn’t been an issue. There’s been offers to return to the

SPFL. But Lafferty is content. He said: “I love it. It is a great club heading in the right direction. I get on really well with the two owners Scott and Jack. It is a proper family club

who get the community involved with things. “Obviously, the football is different. I am not turning out in front of tens of thousands of fans but it is a good group of lads. “I said when I

finished my career I did not want to do it with a clubs settling for mid table. “I wanted a challenge, either a team that was fighting relegation or a team that was fighting for promotion

and this is ideal for me. “Even when I have been here there have been clubs speaking about me joining them. I have had two years here and I am happy here. I came here to win trophies and get

to finals and Sunday is one of them.” Lafferty reckons he has one year left in his playing career. And he’d love to spend it at Keanie Park. He said: “I would like to be. We have spoken so

the conversation is there about next season. I know I am getting on and if I am here next year, it will probably be my last season. “I’d like to go out leaving the club in the Lowland

League. But even after I hang up my boots I would like to stay on as a coach at the club. “It is something I have looked at, I have my own soccer academy as well so I think I can pass on my

experience and hopefully bring the young lads on because I think we don’t have a lot of lads from the 21s coming through. Article continues below “Hopefully that will be a side I can look

after.”