New Hearts signing and former Rangers striker Kyle Lafferty has revealed he “thrived on” the hate aimed towards him from the Celtic fan base during his previous spell in Scotland.
The 29-year-old Northern Irishman has returned north of the border with Hearts after departing Ibrox five years ago following their demotion.
The striker has certainly not shown himself to be a shrinking violet in his 12-year professional football career to date and he has often received a backlash from supporters.
Those include the famous Parkhead crowd and after joining Hearts on Wednesday Lafferty has spoken about the reaction he expects to receive upon his return and how he previously thrived off the Celtic fan base.
“It’s Celtic Park I am more worried about,” told Lafferty, as quoted by the Scottish Sun.
“I don’t know what to expect at Ibrox.
“Everyone knows why I left Rangers. Do I regret that decision? I have said before that I do. But you can’t go back.
“Maybe if I score twice against Celtic in the first game of the season then I will get a slightly better reception at Ibrox.
“But I am fully focused on Hearts. I’m sure I will get a few boos no matter who I am playing against.
“Being part of the Old Firm, I didn’t help myself to be honest but I was a young boy.
“Having the Celtic fans hate me, I thrived on it and it’s probably going to be the same at Hibs, especially with all that has happened over the last couple of days.”
Lafferty spent four years at Rangers between 2008 and 2012, returning 36 goals in 134 appearances and he helped the team win three Premiership titles.
He will now be looking to help Hearts move up from their fifth placed finish of the last campaign, while he will also be looking to better last season’s record of just two goals in 16 appearances in all competitions for Norwich.
Celtic will face Hearts at Parkhead for their opening match of the Premiership season in August and Lafferty will be sure to receive a hostile reception.