Former Rangers striker Kyle Lafferty has opened up on the details behind his Rangers exit, in an interview with the Daily Record.
The £500k [Evening Times] man’s Ibrox contract was terminated last month, leaving him a free agent.
Yet, it turns out that Steven Gerrard actually told the striker he had no future with the club as early as May. In the build-up to the final Old Firm of the season at Ibrox, the manager took him aside to deliver the news.
Kyle Lafferty opens up on recent Rangers departure
“He was straight with me and told me I wouldn’t be anywhere near the first team,” Lafferty told the Daily Record. “No matter who you are or who you play with, that’s hard to hear.”
“But if it’s with the team you grew up with and the team you support then it’s a hammer-blow. You want to be part of a Rangers side which wins the league and you want to make an impression and I was gutted not to be able to do that.”
Therefore, as the players completed a triumphant lap of honour following their 2-0 win over Celtic that month, Lafferty knew he was parading around Ibrox for the final time as a Ger.
“My wife could see I was clearly emotional,” the Northern Irishman admitted. “It was hard to take but you just have to take it on the chin.”
Verdict
Steven Gerrard has maintained throughout the summer that he gave those players surplus to requirements plenty of time to find a new club.
That certainly seems to be the case with Lafferty, given that he’s known for months that he’d never don the shirt again.
His next move is yet to materialise, but he’s issued a come and get me plea to former club Hearts [Daily Record].
At 31, he shouldn’t be over the hill just yet. However, it’s clear that the manager made the right decision here. If Rangers are to win silverware going forward, they need more refined operators roaming in the final third.
