Kyle Lafferty delighted to achieve boyhood dream

Published on Sunday 15 May 2011 23:53

KYLE LAFFERTY last night savoured his status as Rangers' title-clinching hero for a third successive season and claimed Celtic had paid the price for failing to show sufficient respect to the rest of the SPL clubs.

The Northern Ireland international striker scored a hat-trick in yesterday's 5-1 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park which secured a third successive championship success for Rangers.

Lafferty's contribution had been key in sealing the previous two title wins, with the opening goal in Rangers' 3-0 win at Dundee United in 2009 and the only goal of the game against Hibs at Easter Road last year.

The 23-year-old has struck a rich vein of form at the most significant part of the season once more, scoring seven goals in his last six games as Rangers held onto their crown by a point from Celtic. As he took his turn to lift the trophy after the match yesterday, Lafferty mimicked the ear-cupping gesture Celtic manager Neil Lennon made to Rangers supporters following the 0-0 draw at Ibrox in the final Old Firm showdown of the campaign last month.

Lafferty then criticised Lennon for his controversial comments during the title run-in when he questioned the level of competitiveness opposing teams were providing against Rangers.

"We can only play who is put in front of us, we don't control how hard a team tries against us," said Lafferty. "But I think every team wants to try and beat Rangers and Celtic, to have a say in who wins the championship.

"It is disrespectful to other teams to say they are not trying. We have been the better side this season and we deserve to be champions. Celtic can't pick up points when the going gets tough. That's when they fail. We've got the heart and desire to get points when things are not going so well.

"Even after that 0-0 draw at Ibrox,we knew Celtic had to go to Hearts which can always be a difficult game. But Inverness did it for us first when they beat them 3-2. They were superb that night and deserved the win.

Once it was back in our hands, it was too good to chuck it away again."

Lafferty admitted he was struggling to take in his own role in Rangers' latest success. "It has happened to me three years in a row now and I can't really get my head around it," he said. "If I'd only scored the first goal today, I would have been happy with that. But to get a hat-trick on the day Rangers win the title really fulfilled a boyhood dream for me today."

Inevitably, Lafferty dedicated the triumph to outgoing manager Walter Smith, the man who sanctioned his 3.75 million purchase from Burnley in the summer of 2008. It is a piece of business which has often been derided but Lafferty has justified Smith's faith in him.

"He is the manager who brought me here and I'll always be grateful," added Lafferty. "It was always my dream to play for Rangers and I have Walter to thank for it coming true. To score three goals in his last game is an amazing feeling.

"Every single player was fired up to make sure we won today for him. He is an absolute legend at the club. He didn't have to say anything to us before the game today, we knew exactly what we had to do. Everyone of us knows what Walter Smith has done for Rangers and we wanted to make sure it didn't fall flat on his last day.

"We wanted to start well but to be 3-0 up so early in the game was a dream. We took our foot off the gas a bit after that and Kilmarnock came into it towards the end of the first half, but we stepped it up again in the second half and it was a tremendous win."

While Lafferty hogged the limelight with his hat-trick, he believes it is the contribution of his strike partner Nikica Jelavic which has been the key factor in the retention of the title. The Croatian international, signed from Rapid Vienna for 4 million last August, has had an injury-interrupted first season for Rangers but scored his 19th goal of the campaign in yesterday's comprehensive victory.

"When the club sold Kenny Miller in January, having lost Kris Boyd last summer, we maybe did wonder how we would manage up front," said Lafferty. "But Jelavic has come back from injury and shown how good he is. He is like Kenny and Boydy rolled into one. Without him, I don't think we would be celebrating today."

Lafferty is confident of further success under Smith's successor Ally McCoist if he receives the promised level of investment from new owner Craig Whyte.

"If we keep this squad together and add a few more players during the summer,"he added, "then there is no reason why Ally can't do what the gaffer has done."

Rangers full-back Steven Whittaker pinpointed goalkeeper Allan McGregor's late penalty save from Georgios Samaras in the Old Firm stalemate at Ibrox as the seminal moment of the championship race.

"That save kept us within touching distance of Celtic, even though it was still in their hands at that point," said Whittaker. "So when they slipped up in Inverness, we knew we were capable of winning our last three games.

"Everyone has spoken about the off the field stuff going on this season, and the uncertainty surrounding the ownership of the club. But we are footballers and are paid to play football. We just wanted to make sure we gave it our best shot. We may not have had the greatest depth of squad this season, but we have dug in and shown great spirit. The closeness of the boys in our dressing room is fantastic and it's a magic feeling today."