WATCH: 'Teams will be wary of us' Lafferty says NI no longer 'an underdog nation'
Striker vows to fire Michael O'Neill's side into finals of another big tournament
Last updated 7th Sep 2018
Northern Ireland’s Kyle Lafferty believes they’ve shaken off their underdog tag, and pose a serious threat in Europe.
The talismanic forward is a guest this week on our Football show, alongside his manager Michael O’Neill.
After an iconic journey at Euro 2016, and then a narrow World Cup 2018 playoff defeat, the striker says they’ve earned the right to some respect on the continent.
The warning shot comes ahead of the opening game of the UEFA Nations League and the visit of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
"Teams will come here and they'll be wary of us," says Lafferty.
"Any team that comes here and disrespects us will be punished. We have players through the whole squad now, not just the starting eleven, that will get the chance and will punish teams. It's an exciting time."
If Northern Ireland are to have any success, many believe it will be down to Lafferty to grab the goals to send Michael O’Neill’s side on their way.
"I'm looking to go into this campaign in the same manner as I did when we qualified for Euro 2016 and try and approach each game as well as I can. Hopefully I can score the goals that will take us to another tournament," says Lafferty.
Although Lafferty is happy to shoulder the responsibility, he knows the form of Liam Boyce, Josh Magennis and Will Grigg means there is healthy competition for the centre-forward position.
"If you're not performing, Michael's going to leave you out. You obviously need to prepare and approach these games the right way, and if you're doing the job, you're going to play."