Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland responds to Joe Hart's 's****bag' claim after beating Celtic

The English goalkeeper mouthed off but the Tynecastle striker had the last laugh

Lawrence Shankland shrugged off Joe Hart's claim that he was a "s****bag" for not taking Hearts' penalty during the 2-0 win over Celtic. The Parkhead goalkeeper was seen mouthing expletives in Shankland's direction as Jorge Grant placed the ball on the spot at Tynecastle Park on Sunday, but the Hearts captain insisted it was simply banter.

Grant converted with aplomb to put the hosts 1-0 ahead and Shankland got the last laugh on Hart by scoring the second goal with an instinctive finish after half-time. The striker has now hit 28 goals in all competitions for club and country this season.

Shankland was Hearts' regular penalty taker earlier this season and scored from the spot against Hibs in Wednesday's 1-1 draw. Hart seemed perplexed at the Scotland internationalist deferring to Grant and cameras caught him aiming some verbals at his opponent. Shankland was unperturbed and explained the situation afterwards.

Asked what Hart said to him, the Hearts captain remained diplomatic. "I don’t think I could say it," he smiled. "He was obviously having a bit of banter. He was clearly expecting me to take the penalty and had probably studied me all week. I think it probably threw him a bit when Jorge hit it, which can sometimes be a good thing. Previous to now, I’d obviously hit the last two, but Jorge wasn’t on the pitch.

"He hit one against Aberdeen [in January] and scored after I’d missed three in a row, so there’s no reason for him not to hit them when he’s on the pitch. It’s something I’m quite comfortable with and there was no bickering about it. I was quite happy for him to go and score.

"I think it threw him [Hart]. He would’ve made his mind up where he was going if I was taking the penalty and studied it a bit - but Jorge went up composed and scored. It’s just part and parcel of the game. I would’ve probably said the same thing. A couple of the outfield players had asked if I’d bottled it as well. I would’ve been asking as well if I’d been in their position.

"That’s football. That’s what it’s all about. There’s always that bit of banter between the players on the pitch, but I was confident in Jorge to go and score."

READ MORE: Hearts reaction: Pens verdict and injuries to Shankland and Vargas

Shankland had a goal disallowed for a marginal offside following Alan Forrest's run and pass moments before half-time following, but he finally found the net in the second half. Hearts midfielder Calem Nieuwnehof slipped and fell to the ground but still managed to prod the ball in his captain's direction for an instinctive finish.

"It was just about me getting into positions. Obviously, Nieuwenhof’s amazing assist," laughed Shankland. "I don’t actually know how the ball went back in my direction, but thankfully enough it came into my path and I managed to stick it away. I was delighted to get the goal. It was quite instinctive. As soon as it bounced up I thought: 'I’m hitting this.' I caught it really well and it was a good finish. I was just delighted to see it hit the net."

"Obviously, there was frustration with the first one. I thought I was onside but I think [Cameron] Carter-Vickers did really well to step up. It was clever defending from him. Alan [Forrest] took four days to give me the pass - I’ll be having words with him - but we got there in the end.

"That result was a big one. It was a tough week coming into it, we obviously knew the fixtures we were going to face. We started off with a really hard one at Ibrox and the other night we weren’t at our best, if we’re being honest. Hibs probably edged it overall, but we managed to get out with a point. We took the positives from that and brought them into Sunday. I thought we were more at it and more like ourselves. It was a deserved victory in the end."

Celtic were reduced to 10 men after only 16 minutes when Hyunjun Yang received a red card for catching Hearts defender Alex Cochrane on the face with a high boot. That came moment after striker Adam Idah's penalty was saved by the home goalkeeper Zander Clark. "Celtic are a good team and they’ve got really quality players, but we had a gameplan and we believed in what we were trying to do," explained Shankland. "Obviously, the game was pretty even and the red card helps us. Zander making the save from the penalty keeps us in the game as well.

READ MORE: Historic Hearts win ends a 12-year wait against Celtic

"The game changed pretty quickly within a five-minute period and after Celtic went down to 10 men we controlled it really well. It can be difficult sometimes playing against 10 men, the game becomes harder somehow, but I thought we managed it really well and deserved the victory."

Scotland manager Steve Clark was in attendance at Tynecastle to cast his eye over Shankland, Clark and Celtic's Greg Taylor ahead of this month's international fixtures. "I didn’t know. I don ‘t text him all the time, he’s not my mate. He’s the national team manager," said Shankland. "When he turns up to games, he’s here. Hopefully I impressed today and put on a good performance and we got a victory as well.”

Along with his goalkeeper, the prolific forward is a cert to be included in Clarke's squad as he approaches 30 goals this season. "Yeah, I just keep knocking them one at a time. Hopefully, they keep building. That [30 goals] an objective which would be a great achievement for myself. I’ll look to do it if I can."

"All you can do is play for your club and play at the level you are playing at, do as well as you can. At this moment in time I feel like I am doing pretty well. Leading the line for Hearts, scoring goals and being a leader as well. I am giving myself a good opportunity [with Scotland].

"I think Zander's been brilliant from the minute he's come into the team. There was the whole thing with Craigy [Gordon] coming back from injury. That adds an added pressure as Craigy is such a good goalkeeper. For me Zander's not doing anything to lose his place. He's been brilliant for us - really big saves in big moments. He's a top goalie and he shows that. He's had the chance to play at international level and that's been good for him."

A minor injury placed Shankland's availability in doubt prior to kick-off against Celtic, although the player had no intention of sitting out. "There was obviously a bit of chat back and forth between the sports scientist and me - but thankfully enough they took my word that I was all right. And I was. It was just a wee niggle.

"I probably felt worse going into the Hibs game, if I'm being honest. I felt good today and I think that showed in the performance level. It's good that we've got a chance to recover and tone down a wee bit before we build up to the Morton game [in the Scottish Cup next Monday]. It'll probably come at a good time for me but I'm all good."

Hearts now hold a 13-point lead in third place in the Premiership table. They are also 13 behind second-placed Celtic with nine games remaining. "We need to try and get third as soon as possible. It's ours to give away," stressed Shankland. "Last year we did and we got punished for it so that will be in the back of our minds. We use that as a lesson going forward but we are in a good position. It's about going and cementing that and see where it takes us afterwards.

"This was a big week so it was about trying to get as many points as we could. Four is a decent return for the fixtures we had [Rangers, Hibs and Celtic]. We can be pleased. Before that we were on a really good run and that's easy to forget about when you have a couple of not-at-the-top performances. But we know what we are capable of going into the games going forward. We've taken a good tally."

Having beaten Celtic twice this season and came within minutes of winning at Ibrox last October, Hearts can feel confident against both halves of the Glasgow duopoly. "I think you need to believe, especially here [at Tynecastle]," said Shankland. "These games are always difficult for teams when they come here but especially the Old Firm. They are usually big ones and on the TV.

"People look at them as a game that Celtic and Rangers could maybe lose. For us, the mentality needs to be that we go and win them. We're starting to get evidence now that we can win them - winning at home and away against Celtic. The first game against Rangers was really tight but they've had two good results against us.

"We just need to keep working hard and believing we can get closer to them - and then when we do get the chance to play against them, you give them good games. I think your overall work gets done around the games you play them and if you do that well, you go into the matches full of belief."

Lastly, Shankland was asked about the bottle opener thrown at him as he waited to take his penalty against Hibs on Wednesday. "I thought it was a vape when it was coming, but when it came a wee bit closer I realised it wasn't. So best to get out of the way! Listen, it's one of those things. I'm not one to cry about it but it's not ideal, not what we want. It's not for me to deal with. It never hit me in the end and that's what I was caring about."