Kyle Lafferty backing Northern Ireland teammate Steven Davis to succeed in Rangers management role following Michael Beale departure

Davis, who is the most capped British men’s player of all time after making 140 appearances for Northern Ireland to date, will take charge of his first game on Thursday evening when the ‘Gers travel to Cypriot outfit Aris Limassol in the Europa League.

The 38-year-old was inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame earlier this year after helping the club win four Scottish Premiership titles and also played his part in reaching two European finals across two permanent spells in Glasgow.

He has been sidelined since December with a serious knee injury and is now stepping into his first managerial role after Beale departed following their 3-1 weekend league defeat to Aberdeen which left them sitting in third – seven points adrift of leaders Celtic.

Lafferty, who won three consecutive league titles at Rangers between 2008-2011, has full belief that close friend Davis can make an immediate impact.

“I’m sure Davo will have been shocked to get this opportunity,” he told the Daily Record. “But as he starts to get a feel for it and get more comfortable with the job, I’ve no doubt he’ll grow in confidence.

"If he starts to get results and if we can close that gap on Celtic, then the job will probably be his. But the big if is getting those results.

“If not, then there will be a list of guys jumping at the chance to manage Rangers.

"If it doesn’t work out for Davo and Alex (Rae) full-time, then people like Derek (McInnes) I’m sure would be good enough to step up and get the job done.

“Everyone knows Derek is a Rangers fan and he played for the club, so he knows what Rangers means to the fans.

"But if Davo can get the results, then the job is his. Why would you want to change something that works?

“I’m sure he’ll be excited about the opportunity ahead of him and champing at the bit to get on that touchline on Thursday night as manager of Rangers.”

Lafferty, who is now playing for Scottish seventh-tier side Johnstone Burgh following his summer departure from Linfield, sits second in the all-time Northern Ireland goalscoring chart behind David Healy and made the last of his 89 international appearances in June 2022.

He was in contact recently with Davis about organising a round of golf and is excited to see what his “wee mate” can do with a club they both love.

“I really thought Michael Beale was going to be the guy who brought the title back to Ibrox,” he added. “Results haven’t been good and he’ll be the first person to admit that.

"I’d have liked to see him stay on a wee bit longer - but on the plus side, my wee mate has now come in to take over. That’s taken me by shock.

“I was speaking to him only the other week to plan a game of golf, so now it looks like I’ll have the Rangers manager for a playing partner!

"I’m just absolutely delighted for him.”