Rangers manager Walter Smith has backed Kyle Lafferty to end the season on a high now his injury and illness worries are behind him.
The striker returned to the side for last night's 2-0 win over St Johnstone in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League after recovering from a knee problem and made the most of the opportunity by grabbing the opener at McDiarmid Park. Smith is well aware that Lafferty has been unable to enjoy an uninterrupted run in the team since his arrival at Ibrox. But now Smith expects the striker to go from strength to strength in the remaining games.
He said: "He has finished the previous seasons strongly. His seasons always seem to be disrupted by injury and then he becomes a bit stronger later."
He added: "Although there was an error on St Johnstone's part for the goal, he still had a bit to do and it was a good goal for him. We miss him when he's out, he's a bit erratic but he's an awkward one for teams to handle."
Steven Naismith also netted late on to wrap up the win in Perth that took the Scottish champions to the top of the SPL ahead of Celtic's meeting with Hibernian on Wednesday.
Rangers had already passed up the opportunity to leapfrog their rivals to the summit when they lost 3-2 to Dundee United at Ibrox on Saturday.
Smith said: "We had to show a better edge in our defending. If we had the same levels of concentration and determination on Saturday, we wouldn't have lost the goals that we did.
"This game was far better on what was certainly a more awkward evening and a more awkward pitch."
Source: PA
