The captain still has four months left of the season to increase his tally and surpass some of the great goal scorers in Hearts’ history. Robertson’s best tally in one season was 31 in season 1987-88, a target within Shankland’s reach given that Hearts have 16 league games left and are still in the Scottish Cup.
By hitting the 20-goal mark, the 27-year-old summer signing from FK Oostende in Belgium has managed to do what other talented players have fallen short of over the last three decades. Liam Boyce struck 16 goals in each of the past two seasons, Kyle Lafferty notched 19 in the 2017-18 campaign and Rudi Skacel hit 18 six years earlier.
Hearts have had a number of seasons when their top goalscorer has not been a striker, with Skacel among a number of midfielders to hold the mantle, the Czech player doing so on three occasions including once when he shared the top spot with Paul Hartley with 17 each.
Others have included Jamie Walker (15), Michael Stewart (eight), Bruno Aguiar (seven), Hartley on his own (15) and Colin Cameron (16). Utility man Callum Paterson (11) topped the charts in the 2013-14 campaign when the administration-hit Jambos were relegated, and centre-back Craig Halkett led the way with seven goals in the Covid-hit 2019-20 campaign.
Here are the last six men to notch 20 goals in a season for Hearts, providing Shankland with more targets to aim for.
5. Donald Ford (29 goals in 1973-74)
Broke the 20-goal mark once but did so emphatically with a 29-goal haul in the 1973-74 season. Ford spent the vast majority of his career at Tynecastle and topped the club's scoring charts in eight consecutive seasons, taking over the mantle from Willie Wallace, who left for Celtic in 1967 just in time to become one of the Lisbon Lions. Photo: SNS GROUP
6. John Robertson (31 goals in 1987-88)
The club's all-time record goalscorer's best tally was 31 in 1987-88 and he achieved the 20-goal feat on six occasions, the final time being 1991-92. He hit 19 goals five seasons later. He first broke the 20-goal mark in 1982-83 when he was second-top scorer with 21 goals as Hearts won promotion. The former Scotland international was top of the charts in 13 of the next 14 years - the exception being when Iain Ferguson top-scored with 11 goals in 1988-89 following Robertson's transfer to Newcastle. Overall, Robertson scored 310 goals for Hearts, including 214 in the league and 27 against Hibs over two spells at Tynecastle. Overall, Robertson scored 310 for Hearts, including 214 in the league and 27 against Hibs over two spells at Tynecastle. Photo: SNS Group