Gareth McAuley fears former Rangers team-mate Kyle Lafferty's move to Sunderland is a "disaster waiting to happen".
The Northern Irishman feels his countryman's switch to the Stadium of Light has the makings of a "car crash" after he signed a deal until the end of the season on Monday.
McAuley, who played with Lafferty at Ibrox during the 2018/19 season, believes he and boss Phil Parkinson are polar opposites.
He insists the 32-year-old frontman doesn't always apply himself in training and is partial to some off the field antics that could rile his new manager.
He told the Belfast Telegraph: “I fear Kyle Lafferty’s move to Sunderland will be a car crash. A disaster waiting to happen.
“I want to see Kyle playing regularly and, if Phil Parkinson wasn’t the Sunderland manager, then the Black Cats would tick all the boxes for him.
“But I struggle to see how ‘old school’ Phil will tolerate Kyle’s behaviour.
"They will be chalk and cheese.
“Kyle has never been the best trainer, he likes his practical jokes, sometimes goes quiet in games, doesn’t always stick to the schedule and discipline is an issue.
“What Kyle needs is a manager who will accept and indulge his moments of madness, who will put an arm round him, fill him full of confidence and give him the benefit of the doubt when Kyle fails to deliver in games.
Phil is the complete opposite, he is a hard task master, who is old fashioned in his methods, there is no room for joking about and I suppose he is someone who uses the stick, rather than the carrot.”
Lafferty's Sunderland stint, through no fault of his own, got off to a controversial start on Monday afternoon.
The Black Cats announced his arrival with a song originating from his time at Ibrox that contains the words "he's seven foot and he plays the flute".
The Tweet was swiftly deleted and a club spokesperson issued a statement admitting the blunder.
It read: "It was a genuine mistake and was removed immediately.
"It was written in all innocence by someone unaware of how it could be interpreted."
