Lawrence Shankland reacts to abuse from Hearts fans, suspension, penalty duties and his goalscoring return
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Relief coursed through Lawrence Shankland’s body after scoring both goals in Hearts’ 2-0 win over Dundee. A run of one goal in 21 games prior to the weekend was distinctly unlike the predatory centre-forward, whose tallies of 28 and 31 goals respectively in the last two season’s earned him iconic status at Tynecastle Park.
A precise header and instinctive left-foot finish were the highlights of a strong Hearts display inspired by Shankland, who looked to have recaptured some of his previous swagger. Those goals propelled his team off the bottom of the Premiership table. They were also the perfect response to a particularly difficult 10 days for the player.
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Hide AdA missed penalty-kick against Cercle Brugge in the UEFA Conference League prompted a minority of Hearts supporters to aim a stinging chant at Shankland inside the Jan Breydel Stadium. As his contract runs towards expiry with no sign of an extension, he endured one of his difficult nights in football in Belgium. The sight of him trudging out of the stadium disconsolately underlined his emotions after sending a late penalty over the crossbar with Cercle leading 1-0.
Shankland, to his credit, has reacted perfectly. He refused to hide or shirk responsibility and earned the rewards against Dundee. “In recent weeks, I've been confident the goals have been coming, but I've still not managed to get them in the net,” he said. “It was nice to see the ball finally land in the goal again. It was a good header for the first one. The second one just falls to me in the middle of the box, so it feels like none of them have fallen like that up until now. It's strange, I can't really put a finger on it, but it happens in football. I'm just delighted to be back scoring.
“Of course, there's always that bit of relief there when you've been on a dry spell for a while. Obviously I want to score goals, I always say that. I don't enjoy not scoring, but you need to look at the bigger picture at times when you're having moments like that. I'm delighted to get on the scoresheet.”
Recalling the experience in Bruges, Shankland was philosophical. “It was obviously a tough night. It’s football and probably the lowest night I've had in a good few years. I felt sorry for myself for a couple of hours and the next day I was ready to go again. The games are coming thick and fast and you need to get over those moments.
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Hide Ad“I work mentally with a guy called John Johnstone. I've worked with him for years and there have been moments like I've gone through recently where you work with him to get through the tougher times. Football is pretty easy when things have gone well and everything just seems to fall into rhythm, but when you come across moments like that you need to dig into what you've learnt over the years, back yourself and be confident in the return.
“That's what I've had to do. There have been some difficult games out there and you'll get stick, which is obviously part of football, but you just need to grind through it. Days like Saturday come around again and you get yourself back on the scoresheet and all of a sudden everything looks that bit better.”
He doesn’t appear to hold a grudge against those who made their feelings abundantly clear on where he should go. “I don't think I got overly caught up in it. I imagine there was a good amount of beer drank out there [in Bruges] as well at that time. They're stronger than here as well,” he smiled. “Obviously I heard it and it's not ideal, but there's been times where they've been really good to me here as well. It's not something I'm worried about.
“It wasn't the abuse, that didn't bother me. It was more just missing the pen and the way the game went for the boys. It wasn't anything to do with the crowd or that. I was just gutted with how the result went. It was obviously a chance to get back in the game. It's more that feeling, you feel like you've let your team-mates down a bit. The run I'd been on previously doesn't help that, because you've not really got much to back it up, to say: ‘Well I did that last week.’ That was the biggest thing, it was me and my team-mates, it wasn't so much the outside stuff.”
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Hide AdThe aforementioned mindset coach was quickly on the case after the final whistle in Belgium. “He Whatsapped me maybe an hour after it, just asked how I was and I said fine. He was like: ‘Right, feel sorry for yourself for the night and we're back tomorrow.’ Something to give you that realism, it helps at times like that. You need to realise it's one moment again that has unfortunately not gone to plan, but that's what it is. When it comes to the end of a season, it's one bad moment and you need to move on quickly.”
Whether Shankland takes the next penalty Hearts are awarded is not entirely clear. He was asked the question but did not give an entirely clear answer. “If there was one, when I'd scored two on Saturday, I might have fancied it,” he replied. “Obviously my record of late hasn't been brilliant on penalties, so I'm not going to sit here and say I'll definitely take it. From a selfish point of view, other boys in the team, then it's a chance for them to score a goal. So listen, someday I'll hit the next pen, whether it's me or not. If there's nobody on the pitch who has to hit it, I'll hit it, but we'll see.”
The Scotland internationalist suffered one negative against Dundee with a late yellow card that triggered a suspension. He must now sit out Sunday’s Premiership game at Kilmarnock. “It's disappointing. Some of the bookings I've had haven't been great, to be fair,” he chuckled. “I've not really wanted yellow cards at times, but that's football. You get two goals, back on the scoresheet and then you get suspended. But if you had offered me that on Saturday morning, I'd have taken it.”
He is available for Hearts next fixture, Thursday’s UEFA Conference League tie away to FC Copenhagen. A draw could be sufficient to secure a place in the tournament’s knockout play-off round, whilst a win would guarantee it. “Copenhagen are a good side. It’s probably one of the toughest games we'll face in this league section. We can go there and look forward to it. Overall in the tournament, we've showed up alright in the games. That's another one that we'll look to show up well in and hopefully get three points.”