Kyle Lafferty on the Rangers link that made Linfield move a ‘no brainer’
KYLE LAFFERTY realised a boyhood dream when he signed for Linfield.
But it was a move made at Ibrox.
The Northern Irish striker made a shock exit from Kilmarnock on deadline day - a decision reached by the Ayrshire club BOARD over a disciplinary issue.
It fell against boss Derek McInnes' wishes with Lafferty a key figure in his quest to avoid the drop from the SPFL top-flight.
However he will have to negotiate the Premiership season without his talisman - who also sat out 10-games following a ban for a sectarian slur on a night out in his homeland.
Now though Lafferty is back in Belfast alongside his old mate David Healy - an international strike partner and former team-mate at Rangers.
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He expressed his regret at not sticking around at Killie but admitted the NI reunion move was a 'no-brainer'.
He said: “I’ve known the gaffer having played with him for Northern Ireland and at Rangers. We always had that good connection and good relationship as friends.
"When he gave me the call, it was a no-brainer. I have to thank him for giving me the opportunity.”
He has a familiar face in the dugout and is in familiar surrounding at Windsor Park having played there for the national team and supported the club as a youth.
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There's also a familiar demand for success Lafferty became used to in two spells at Ibrox.
He added: "There was a lot of speculation about me coming here. Knowing how big a club Linfield is and supporting them as a young boy as well, it’s something I've always looked at so I’m absolutely delighted to be here.
“I know how passionate the fans are. They’re required to win trophies every single season.
"Every team I’ve played for in my career have always had high expectations to win trophies and I’ve come to Linfield who have the same expectations so it ticks all the boxes."
The striker will be a big miss for Kilmarnock after his second spell ended abruptly.
His Rugby Park boss Derek McInnes also saw Oli Shaw depart his strikeforce on the same day and said: "It was a board decision and conversations between the board and Kyle.
"The situation that we were in, trying to bring forward players in, it's left us really short on that side of it. So we're disappointed that this is the outcome.
"But it was between the club and Kyle, unfortunately for us Kyle has left.
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"I enjoyed working with Kyle. I'll always be there for him, but unfortunately I'm no longer going to be his manager."
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