A DRESSING room dressing down from Davie Weir during half-time in a league game against Aberdeen at Pittodrie was once the catalyst for Kyle Lafferty to overcome a poor spell of form and supply the goals that won Rangers the Scottish title.

The Ibrox captain is confident his old team mate has no need of that sort of roughhouse treatment to help Steven Gerrard’s side challenge for silverware in the months to come.

Lafferty has struggled to live up to the high hopes that supporters had when he returned for a second spell at the Glasgow club back in August.

Indeed, his late goal in the 5-0 win over Hamilton at the Hope CBD Stadium on Sunday was his first in the Ladbrokes Premiership since way back in September.

READ MORE: Kyle Lafferty hoping first Premiership strike since September is first of many

Yet, Weir, speaking at a Premier Sports event at Hampden yesterday to promote the satellite broadcaster’s screening of the William Hill Scottish Cup quarter-final between Aberdeen and Rangers at Pittodrie on Sunday, knows from personal experience the gangly front man comes into his own in the closing stages of a season.

He anticipates, despite the presence of both Jermain Defoe and Alfredo Morelos at Rangers, Lafferty coming to the fore in both the league and the cup in the weeks ahead.

“I think Kyle needed the goal,” he said. “With Jermain coming in and Alfredo obviously doing very well, he has fallen down the pecking order. I think he needs a bit of confidence to get in the team. But on his day he’s a real handful and he’s a good option to have.

“I’m not sure he has matured! Seriously, though, he’s talented, he’s huge, he can run, he can finish and technically he’s good. He’s got all the attributes. For Kyle the hardest part was just doing it consistently.

“On his day he was unstoppable. And he’s shown that domestically and internationally. It was just about consistency and getting a run of games that allows him to show that. His talent is unquestioned. I’ve seen that from day one and can still see that.”

Weir added: “Kyle often came alive towards the end of the season and that’s because he responded to the pressure, he’s got that in his locker. He’s got ability and maybe he had the motivation for the big games and it’s the same in international games where he went on a run of contributing important goals in really big games.

“Some players rise to the occasion and Kyle’s career has had lots of highlights and good games, but probably not enough good seasons and consistency in his game.

“But everyone is different and when you’ve got good strikers like Jermain Defoe, Alfredo Morelos and Kyle it’s just about getting the blend right and when you need each player. “

Lafferty famously scored for Rangers on the day they won the Scottish tile in three consecutive seasons – in 2009, 2010 and 2011 during his first stint at Ibrox.

However, Weir recalled how the forward’s lackadaisical attitude during a league game against Aberdeen that Walter Smith’s side was losing at Pittodrie in 2009 had prompted him to square up to his team mate.

“It was spontaneous,” he said. “The emotion got involved and I just felt I had to say something. I’m not even sure if I was the captain that day. I just felt I had to say something because I wasn’t happy and that’s how you dealt with it - in the dressing room.

“You said what needed to be said and then went out and tried to win the game. On that occasion I felt Kyle could have helped us more. When you go up to places like Aberdeen you need everyone working hard and everyone contributing and I didn’t feel like he was doing enough.

“I just wasn’t happy with him to be honest! I thought that was my job. It wasn’t something I did regularly, I didn’t have to do it, the manager was more than capable. It was quite an unusual situation for me to react like that. Fortunately, Walter backed me up in it. I think he then came off!

“It’s what football is all about. It’s all about learning lessons and improving and trying to take lessons from managers and players and coaches. I’m not going to claim any credit for it.”

There was no ill-feeling between the two afterwards. “It was our Christmas night out, so we flew from Aberdeen to Bournemouth and we ended up laughing about it,” said Weir. “That’s the way it works - say your bit and you move on. That’s life.”

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Weir knows, with Celtic eight points clear at the top of the Premiership, the Scottish Cup presents the best chance that Rangers have of claiming a trophy in the 2018/19 campaign. But he believes just claiming some silverware would be a significant step in the right direction for a club trying to rebuild after years of off-field turmoil.

“Rangers have got to get back to the stage where they are winning trophies,” he said. “The league is the most important, it is the one you want. But winning a cup can be a stepping stone towards that. Ideally they want to win both, but one of them would be acceptable this season.”

Premier Sports will screen live and exclusive coverage of Hibernian v Celtic on Saturday and Aberdeen v Rangers on Sunday in the William Hill Scottish Cup. Available on Sky, Virgin Media and via the Premier Player, new subscribers can get their first month free. Visit www.premiersports.com for details.