Monday 30 March 2015 07:27, UK
Kyle Lafferty says Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill is the best manager he has ever played for, after the striker scored twice in the win over Finland.
Lafferty’s double helped push Northern Ireland closer to an unexpected place at Euro 2016.
He scored both goals in Sunday's 2-1 win over Finland, taking Northern Ireland to 12 points from a possible 15 and his scoring tally to five in five qualifying matches.
The 27-year-old failed to score in his last European qualification campaign, and says O’Neill’s influence has been key in his change in form.
"The last campaign I let everyone down, but Michael had a word with me and it really hit home. I'm probably glad he did that," Lafferty said.
"Michael is the best manager I've played under and he gets the best from me and pulls me to one side before every game.
"What he says inspires me and gets me up for the games. I'm buzzing playing for him."
Lafferty, currently on loan at Rizespor from Norwich, has been named man-of-the-match in all four Northern Irish wins, away in Hungary and Greece and at home against the Faroe Islands and Finland.
But while he grows increasingly comfortable with being the side's headline grabber, he is equally keen to share the plaudits.
"I don't like calling myself a hero, I think all the boys were heroes out there," he said.
"There could have been five or six players who deserved to be man of the match in the game.
"I thought Jamie Ward, for example, was superb.
"I scored two goals which is brilliant for me personally, but if I don't score another goal in the campaign and we qualify I'll be happy enough."
Qualification for next year’s tournament would be the first time Northern Ireland have played in a European Championship before.
"We can't get ahead of ourselves but if we keep playing like we are now, it would be a disappointment if we didn't get there," Lafferty said.
"We still have five games to go and everyone is beating everyone.
"The next game in June is going to be massive for us against Romania because it's a top of the table clash."
