There can be no finer way for Northern Ireland to mark the 10-year anniversary of beating Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England than to qualify for the European Championship on another raucous night at Windsor Park. For Kyle Lafferty, however, a more recent, humiliating anniversary will serve as motivation against Hungary.
Two years ago the centre-forward was accused of “letting his team-mates down” by the manager, Michael O’Neill, after being sent off for a reckless foul in a 4-2 World Cup qualifying defeat against Portugal. Lafferty had been on the pitch for only 13 minutes as a frustrated, distracted and ultimately costly substitute. A chequered career was continuing to veer off course and just over six months later he was labelled “an Irishman without rules” by Palermo’s president, Maurizio Zamparini, who sold the striker to Norwich City because “my coach asked me to send him away. He is a womaniser – he disappears for a week, takes a plane to go hunt for women in Milan. His behaviour is unmanageable.”
On Monday he faces Hungary as a player transformed, just like a Northern Ireland team that will qualify for a first tournament in 30 years with victory at Windsor Park. Lafferty has scored six in seven games. A striker struggling for recognition at Carrow Road stands among Europe’s biggest names in the goals’ chart, a feat he frequently mentions to the man he credits for the revival – the Northern Ireland manager.
“Michael makes me believe in myself,” said the 27-year-old striker. “The team and the country needs the Kyle Lafferty with the head screwed on, not the clown. I have matured and I love coming away now. I think this is the first campaign I’ve been available for every single game and I’ve started every single game.
“The transformation is down to Michael. He sat me down the day after I was sent off against Portugal. It’s difficult when you think you’ve got a good relationship with someone and a guy you respect is saying things that hurt you. But when I went away and had a think about it, I knew he was right. He then gave me another chance and called me into the squad for the Cyprus match and a lot of managers wouldn’t have done that.
“When I came on against Portugal we were winning the game and in the first 30 seconds I lost my man and it cost us a goal. I lost my man and then I was sent off after 13 and a half minutes. It was difficult and I’m pretty sure every other manager would have lost the plot with me but Michael talked to me like an adult and he made me wake up.
“Had it not been for the sending off I don’t know if I would be in this position now, helping the team. Obviously I had to grow up sometime. I can’t always be the player who loves a joke off the pitch but performs once in every three games. I owe Michael for everything I’ve done since he took over and hopefully there will be a lot more celebrations between him and I if we cross the line.”
Northern Ireland have not lost at home in this campaign, Hungary are unbeaten away and O’Neill believes his players will enter folklore should they secure qualification for a first European Championship.
The manager said: “I came into the squad as a player in 1988 and a lot of the guys who had been to two World Cups were still around and talking about it, that was a big factor. The likes of Mal Donaghy, Nigel Worthington, big Norman Whiteside. What qualification will mean now is that this generation of players can be remembered like that. I think qualification will lift Northern Ireland football in general by huge amounts. It will lift Northern Ireland as a nation by huge amounts as well.”
Northern Ireland (probable) 4-3-2-1: McGovern; McLaughlin, McAuley, J Evans, Brunt; Davis, Baird, McGinn; Norwood, Dallas; K Lafferty.
Hungary (probable) 4-4-2: Kiraly; Fiola, Juhasz, Kadar, Leandro; Stieber, Elek, Kalmar, Dzsudzsak; Szalai, Nikolic.
Referee C Cakir (Tur)
