Sky Sports pundit Kris Boyd believes that Kyle Lafferty has been “playing on adrenaline” since he secured his return to Rangers in the summer transfer window.
The 31-year-old left Hearts in August in order to seal a second spell at Ibrox, six years after he originally left.
He has been in decent form since, but now that his international duty with Northern Ireland is over, ex-Rangers striker Boyd believes that the way he plays is going to transform as he settles down.
“I think Kyle will have been playing on adrenaline since signing for Rangers last month,” Boyd said at McDonald’s and SFA community football day, as quoted by the Glasgow Evening Times. “He has gone back to the club he loves and will have been so happy.
“But now he has got international duty out of the way I think we will see a different player. He will get back to doing what he does best. He can be a handful for any team both in Scotland and in Europe.”
OPINION
Lafferty has done well since returning to Ibrox, but there is no doubt that he will want to do better. The Northern Ireland international scored a brace on his first league game back with Rangers at Motherwell last month, but he has not found the net since and will want to make amends this week. He is expected to start up front on his own against Villarreal on Thursday, and he is going to have to play such a key role in that game. Rangers will be doing a lot of defending and will need someone to win the aerial duel, help them make the most of set-pieces and hold up the ball to alleviate pressure. Lafferty did not do that against Celtic in his first Old Firm back with the Gers, but he must do it against the Spanish side in the Europa League, otherwise they will return to Scotland empty handed.