Smith backs Gers duo

Lafferty: Bright Gers future

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• Kyle Lafferty
• Maurice Edu

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Kyle Lafferty and Maurice Edu have both been given the backing of Walter Smith, despite making slow starts to life at Rangers.

The pair arrived at Ibrox in the summer with lofty price tags, as Lafferty was lured from Burnley for in excess of £3million while USA international Edu cost £2.6million in a deal agreed with the Major Soccer League.

Both have struggled at the SPL giants in finding playing time hard to come by in Smith's first XI, with Lafferty often having to play second fiddle to Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller.

Smith, though, is confident that both of his signings will prove their worth over time and is backing the duo to flourish just as soon as they acclimatise to life at a club of Rangers' stature.

Complete confidence

"I felt we had to bring in a few younger players and it always takes a little bit of time for them to settle in," he said.

"Lafferty and Edu will play a big part for Rangers in the coming years, I've no doubt about that.

"But it does take them a little time to settle and at Rangers you have to have experienced players around you as well.

"Even the younger ones who have played in Scotland for quite a number of seasons, your Steven Whittakers and Kevin Thomsons, took a bit of time to settle into the team.

"Nowadays we are not able to get a higher level of player.

"We were able to go to England and get them in previous times, but now we have to look at the younger ones.

"And people's expectations of the younger ones should not be the same as those on the experienced players."