Ian Wright’s comments on Kyle Lafferty and his international drop-out will certainly make its way to the Rangers striker.
The Arsenal legend is the latest to chip in on the debate over Lafferty’s actions. Despite being called up to the Northern Ireland squad, the front-man phoned up manager Michael O’Neill to state he wouldn’t be joining. Since then, the Northern Ireland manager has claimed that it “hasn’t helped” his international future.
It’s been emerged that the reason for doing so was because of an achilles injury.
Wright, however, believes that there’s no excuse for phoning up so late. Speaking to the UEFA Nations League highlights show, the former Celtic forward couldn’t believe Lafferty’s actions.
“You should still turn up. You can’t phone up at 12 o’clock to the manager and upset the preparations like that. He knew exactly what he was doing, I think it’s disgraceful behaviour really.
“I think that once the squad is named, say ‘listen, I’m trying to manage my Achilles, I don’t think I’ll be fit enough’.
“Don’t ring at 12 o’clock at night, causing problem like that – I think it’s terribly unprofessional of him.”
Not seeing the full picture
You can’t help but wonder whether Wright is taking everything into consideration here. It’s easy to say that when the squad is announced that the striker should be pulling out.
Lafferty, however, featured against Hearts for several minutes just hours before calling up O’Neill. Therefore, who’s to say that the injury didn’t occur in the closing stages of the Hearts win?
It’s ultimately wrong to accuse Lafferty when nobody knows why the decision was left so late. The Rangers forward, however, could do with coming out and explaining why it took him so long to call his manager.
Despite the drop-out, however, it would be wrong of O’Neill to hold it against Lafferty in the bigger picture. He’s the best forward that Northern Ireland have, and has scored massive goals on a frequent basis for O’Neill’s side.
For Steven Gerrard, he’ll just be hoping his man can shrug off his knock ahead of a big period in the season. Next up for Gers is a trip to New Douglas Park on Sunday.
