Steve Davis urges Kyle Lafferty to prove his maturity on the park

Lafferty, 22, was sent off in the recent 3-0 victory against Hibernian along with opposing midfielder Kevin McBride and irritated manager Walter Smith in the process.

Smith told him to curb his temper and now Steve Davis has offered some advice to his team-mate, who has never been far from controversy. The two players are currently preparing for Northern Ireland's opening Euro 2012 qualifier against Slovenia and Davis said: "Kyle knows what he has to work on.

"He also knows there comes a time when you have to learn from past actions. Hopefully those things are behind him now and he can move on.

"Kyle has had an up and down time at Rangers with various things, but if he can settle down and focus he can be the player we all know he can.

"I think he has been unfairly criticised or pilloried at times. He has become a bit of a target. That's possibly because of things he has done, most of the time because of a lack of experience.

"He is still young, though, and people forget that. He is only 22 so he is still maturing as a person and a player. He got a move to Rangers at a very young age and it was a big move for him. Things get scrutinised in the Old Firm, but Kyle is young and I hope he proves the critics wrong."

Lafferty was linked with a move to Barclays Premier League newcomers Blackpool on deadline day but the deal did not come to fruition. Davis is pleased that the former Burnley forward is staying in the blue corner of Glasgow.

"I would have been surprised if the manager had let Kyle go to Blackpool," said the midfielder. "I certainly don't think his Rangers career is over. It's important to get his confidence up and get a consistent run of games and form. If he can put everything together, he can have a terrific career."

Lafferty is set to start in Slovenia, who beat the Irish 2-0 in Maribor two years ago on their way to a surprise appearance in the World Cup finals. Northern Ireland, who also face Italy, Serbia, Estonia and the Faroe Islands in the group, have failed to score in seven matches going into Friday's match but Davis is upbeat despite that statistic.

He said: "Having played Slovenia in the last World Cup campaign, we know we can compete with them. It was good to see them qualify for the World Cup finals. It is proof that a smaller nation can reach finals. It would be great to emulate that.

"I don't believe we have anything to fear. It's crucial we only worry about ourselves and go out and give 100 per cent."