Tuesday 31 May 2016 12:24, UK
Northern Ireland striker Kyle Lafferty has paid tribute to his wife Vanessa for her part in turning his career around.
Lafferty won his 50th cap on Friday in a 3-0 win over Belarus, scoring his 17th international goal just six days after marrying Scottish model Vanessa Chung.
The 28-year-old admitted last week that he had not always been completely motivated playing for his country and previously thanked manager Michael O'Neill for a heart-to-heart chat that brought about a change in attitude.
He has now praised his new wife for her influence ahead of his big tournament debut this summer in France, where Northern Ireland will take on Germany, Poland and Ukraine in Group C.
"I think Vanessa has played a massive part in this," Lafferty said.
"It is no coincidence that I started to score goals. That says it all. I've scored more goals in the last nine or 10 games than I did in the last eight years and that speaks for itself.
"She's incredible. I've always praised Michael for turning it around for me but they both deserve credit.
Lafferty's big turning point, and career-changing talk with O'Neill, came three years ago when he was sent off while playing for Northern Ireland against Portugal 16 minutes after coming on as a sub.
"I didn't think I'd see 50 caps, not at all," he added. "To be honest, I wasn't even thinking about the next cap.
"I read stuff in the papers, I also read some stuff fans were saying that I should never wear the green shirt again and it hurt. I did think about chucking it but I spoke to Michael and players like Davo [Steven Davis] and they basically talked me out of it.
"They made me realise I was too young to quit and I'm never going to be a person to hide behind others. I'm big enough to come out and take the blame on my shoulders and that is what I've done.
"The more I read and the more I heard, I did enjoy going out and proving everybody wrong about me."
