WHAT is it with these controversial Northern Irishmen returning to Ibrox after five-year absences? A week after Neil Lennon made his low key re-appearance in Govan with Hibs, now it is the turn of the club’s firebrand former striker Kyle Lafferty with the other of the Ladbrokes Premiership’s capital clubs.

That comparison, of course, only goes so far, but a week after his former Rangers and Norwich team-mate Steven Whittaker got the bird in Govan it nonetheless promises to be equally instructive to see what kind of reception Lafferty elicits from the locals and whether he too can rise to the occasion to heap further misery upon Pedro Caixinha.

Lafferty grew up in Enniskillen with an affinity for Rangers. While talk of him returning to Ibrox as a summer signing never came to fruition, he certainly made his mark on the place in his four years at the club between 2008 and 2012 after joining in a £3m deal from Burnley.

While his 31 goals over 104 appearances helped Rangers rack up three consecutive league titles, the matter is complicated due to the manner of his leaving, namely the objection he - along with the likes of countryman Steven Davis, Steven Naismith, Allan McGregor and Whittaker, lodged in June 2012 to the TUPE transfer of his contract to the newco being set up by Charles Green.

The player’s wanderings since then have taken him from Switzerland to Sicily, but his international manager Michael O’Neill feels that returning to Scotland will be good for him. So much has he displayed his flair for the big occasion that O’Neill, who was in Glasgow attending the Street Soccer Scotland/Sir Alex Ferguson fundraising dinner, feels he will embrace being the centre of attention, regardless of what comes in his direction from the stands.

“Seriously, I’m pleased he’s back here because he genuinely likes being in Scotland,” said O’Neill, who was linked with the Hearts job after the departure of Ian Cathro himself. “He needs to get settled and playing all the time and he should have that opportunity with Hearts. Kyle tends to produce the goods when he feels needed and wanted and I’ve no doubt he can do that at Tynecastle this season.”

“Ibrox is going to be a difficult one for him,” the Northern Ireland manager added. “I know for a fact that neither he nor Steven Davis really wanted to leave Rangers. It was a difficult time for them. Kyle will look forward to going back there with Hearts but he loves Rangers and has massive respect for the club, as does Steven.

“But he’s a professional so he’ll go there and do his best,” he added. “I don’t know what kind of reception he’ll get from the home fans, what their perceptions are of the way he left. But Kyle’s 29 now and the next few years are very important for his career and Hearts should get the benefit of that. He loves the big stage so I imagine he’ll love going to Ibrox. I’ve no idea what he’ll do if he should score and I don’t care – but, as his international manager, I hope he does score.”

Considering Scots were once considered the managerial master-race, Northern Irish managers currently exert quite a stranglehold on our domestic game. O’Neill, who lives in Morningside, Edinburgh, is joined by no fewer than four of the Ladbrokes Premiership managers - Lennon, Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers, St Johnstone’s Tommy Wright and Motherwell’s Stephen Robinson. Throw in Jon Daly, a prime contender to keep hold of the Hearts job, from the South and that represents a fair old Irish influence.

“The Northern Irish influence is particularly strong, with Brendan Rodgers, Tommy Wright, Steven Robinson and the other one – Neil Lennon!” said O’Neill. “I always forget about him. No, it’s good for us to have coaches at that level and they’ve all done well.

“Stephen has made good signings and I expect results to improve for him,” he added. “Neil made an immediate impact at Easter Road by winning promotion and they’ve got off to a great start again. As for Tommy, he’s like an old rocking chair. He knows what he’s doing and he keeps doing it, year after year. Brendan doesn’t need me to speak on his behalf about what he’s achieved. Personally, I’d rather have more players in the Premiership because managers aren’t as much use to me but it’s good for the country.”

Next for Rodgers is a second attempt on the Champions League group stages, a challenge he feels is akin to how his Northern Ireland players must peak against top sides like Germany. “We pick players from the Championship and League One and they play against the Germans and Italians or whoever,” O’Neill said. “You just have to try and lift them and, in some respects, that’s what the Champions League is like for Celtic. But I believe they are much better equipped than they were last season, in terms of personnel but also because of the 12 months they’ve just had.”