Kyle Lafferty hoping to 'show people how good I was' with Linfield move

Linfield’s capture of the Northern Ireland international on a free transfer offers the Blues a boost in the bid for trophy success on the domestic front.

And 35-year-old Lafferty still holds on to the belief he can bolster his international credentials by finding the net at club level with Linfield alongside finding his form under Michael O’Neill’s second spell as Northern Ireland boss.

“It was a no-brainer and it will get me playing football again and hopefully scoring goals,” said Lafferty, who left Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock ‘by mutual consent’ last week on transfer deadline day. “And if I can do that, hopefully I can still be around the international squad.”

He continued: “I don’t feel as though I have anything to prove to anyone...I think I’ve had a good career and played for some top teams but I know coming here I can show people how good I was.

“It hangs over my head that I haven’t scored for Northern Ireland in so long.

“I know players will want to test themselves against me and I’ll be a marked man, but I think that is when I perform at my best.

“Hopefully I can score goals and help my team to win and that will be the best answer.

“I’m ready for that but I’m here to concentrate on my football and try to help Linfield win the league.

“If people want to raise their game against me, that will give me confidence to perform at a higher level.”

Lafferty, scorer of 20 goals in a Northern Ireland shirt, will link up as a player under Linfield boss David Healy – his country’s all-time leading scorer and a former team-mate with Rangers and at international level.

“I had other options,” said Lafferty, who could make his debut this weekend at home to Cliftonville, with Linfield away to ‘Big Two’ derby rivals Glentoran next Tuesday. “But every time I’ve left a club, I’ve always had a message from the gaffer (Healy) - and it sounds strange at the minute calling him the gaffer!

“He’s always been brilliant like that and everyone knows the respect I have for him...he’s done things for me on and off the pitch down the years but I never actually thought I’d come home to play football.

“To play at Windsor, play under the gaffer and have the chance of winning two trophies, it’s obviously something that I like the sound of.

“There are two massive games to start with, two of our main rivals and they are really exciting games.”

Lafferty recently returned to the pitch after serving a 10-match Scottish Football Association suspension for using sectarian language during a night out, with footage recorded and uploaded on to social media platforms.

“I’m disappointed that I won’t get to work with (Kilmarnock boss) Derek McInnes and his coaching staff again,” said Lafferty. “I rate him next to Walter Smith (Rangers legend)...Walter is Walter and no one comes close, but from what I experienced with McInnes, he was a mate, a manager and he knew how to get the best out of me.”