Lawrence Shankland exclusive: What he'd have gladly accepted when signing for Hearts as Euro history awaits

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The club captain is fully aware of Thursday night’s opportunity

Since UEFA revamped European football competitions into groups and leagues, no Scottish club outwith Celtic and Rangers has ever reached a post-Christmas knockout phase. Hearts therefore find themselves on the cusp of history tonight. Victory over the Moldovan champions Petrocub will secure progress to the Conference League’s knockout round play-off, and brighten what has been a dark winter so far in Gorgie.

Tynecastle Park will light up brighter than any Christmas tree for one of the most important European ties in Hearts’ recent history. League form is rather depressing for supporters seeing their team bottom of the Premiership and the Conference League is a distraction for those who want one. After beating Dinamo Minsk and Omonoia Nicosia in their opening two ties, Hearts lost the next three to Heidenheim, Cercle Brugge and FC Copenhagen. Consequently, all the tension and pressure accumulates tonight.

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None of the above opponents could be considered European heavyweights, and nor are Petrocub. Certainly not in the category of a Bayern Munich. The Germans were the last continental club to visit Tynecastle competitively after Christmas way back in 1989. The wait has been long and the Hearts Class of 2024 are eager to achieve a touch of success.

“This is probably one of the situations where you won’t need to say too much,” explained captain Lawrence Shankland in an exclusive Edinburgh News interview. “All the boys understand the importance of the game and the competition. Everybody in that changing room wants to be part of a team that is successful in Europe. To get through to the next stage would be a part of success. I don’t think there’s too much for me to say. The boys know where we are and what we can achieve.

“When I came to Hearts [in 2022], we were in European competition. The format has changed but this is an opportunity to go and progress to knockout stages of European football. That speaks for itself. If you had offered me that when I was signing for Hearts, if you’d said we would have a home game against somebody to try and get through, I would have bitten your hand off.

“Our start to the league phase was really good and it puts you in a position where there is expectancy when you play the better teams. The lost the three games against the more difficult sides. We did win the first two and put ourselves in a position where we have a home game to qualify. We’ve given ourselves a chance to get through. That’s the bigger picture we’re looking at.”

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Reaching the play-off is worth up to £1m for Hearts, who have already earned more than £5m this season from playing in the 36-team league stage of the Conference League. Shankland has not played in many bigger matches at club level than this evening’s. “Probably not. For the support, derbies might mean a bit more than this game. We know the importance of it for everybody,” he acknowledged.

“We just need to concentrate on winning the tie. Petrocub’s league season is really short, only 14 games, and they are finished just now. We need to try and use that because we are right in the middle of our season. We need to set a tempo and dictate it, which we always try at Tynecastle. That will be important from the off.”

Thoughts of financial rewards may only pass through players’ minds fleetingly. “We’ll probably not think about it in that way because that’s the way we are, but the club will obviously be thinking about it like that,” admitted Shankland. “Obviously we understand the level. It’s more an opportunity for us to achieve something as a team. That’s the biggest thing we are looking at. This season hasn’t gone perfectly, nobody is hiding from that, but the chance to progress in Europe doesn’t come along too often for the club. It would be great to do that and hopefully it could lead to more success.”

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The momentum it could inspire would be entirely useful given Hearts’ domestic difficulties. Sunday’s 1-0 loss against 10-man Kilmarnock was a nadir which cannot be repeated. Shankland was suspended for that match but is fully aware of the fallout. “Every bad point we’ve had this season, there’s been another game quite quickly after. This European one with so much on it is one you would choose because there’s a chance to get over the weekend. We could go and get a bit of success if we win the game and go through. The boys are looking forward to going out there and putting things right.”

A question asked often this season is: What do Hearts need to spark them into life? Too many performances have lacked zest, and in some cases desire. Petrocub are already out of the Conference League as they sit second bottom. However, they come to Edinburgh with a mean and physical defence that does not tend to concede many goals. They lost 1-0 at home to Real Betis in last week’s Conference League game, and held Istanbul Basaksehir to a 1-1 draw in Turkey two weeks previously.

Shankland is convinced Hearts can triumph if they focus on unity. “I think we need to have belief,” he remarked. “That’s belief in our gameplan and that we can get a result. That’s not easy when results aren’t going perfectly during a season. There is a chance here for us to get a really big result in Europe. The biggest thing is having belief in yourself, your team, and a strong togetherness to make sure you win the tie to get through.

“Petrocub haven’t picked up many points in the Conference League so there is that expectancy to go and beat them, but they don’t concede many goals. That’s probably their biggest strength. They are quite hard to break down. That’s something we will need to work hard at. They also have a wee bit of quality going forward. They haven’t scored a lot of goals either but they do have players who are decent in attack.

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“I think the biggest thing is their defensive solidity. They have held Istanbul Basaksehir and Real Betis to low-scoring games, so it’s quite obvious they are a hard team to get through. That’s the challenge for us. It’s something we haven’t really been brilliant at in the past, but we need to dictate the game to suit us.”

His last Tynecastle performance brought two goals against Dundee to end a 12-game run without scoring. The striker is feeling confident again. “When you start scoring, it seems to breed more goals,” he said. “I’ve even seen things start to change in training, it’s becoming more regular and more natural again. I always had confidence but goals help. The team just seemed to click against Dundee the other week. There was a bit of pace round about me and when it’s like that it plays into our hands. Hopefully I can get on the scoresheet in another big home game this week.”

If Shankland is to continue rippling nets, left-back James Penrice may be a key figure after his two assists against Dundee. “Penners was putting in really good balls before but myself and others weren’t managing to convert,” admitted Shankland. “He puts in quality deliveries that can help you score goals, no doubt about that. You always know support is coming from that side because of Penners’ energy in getting beyond his winger.

“Although we have had poor times this season, I think he has been really consistent. He’s had a really strong start to his time at Hearts. If we can start converting all his crosses, everybody will be happy. I’m sure he will be.”

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