Lawrence Shankland reveals his thoughts on future Hearts contract talks and the deadline set

Prolific striker remains in the best form of his life

Lawrence Shankland looked like he hadn't a care in the world calmly slotting Hearts' 88th-minute winner at Dens Park. That's probably because he didn't. Whilst some of Glasgow and Edinburgh whipped itself into a frenzy during January, this predatory goalscorer simply continued doing what he does best.

Hearts were 1-0 down when he dribbled into the penalty area for Alan Forrest to equalise. Dundee led 2-1 when Shankland's shot struck the arm of the home defender Lee Ashcroft and he converted from the spot. He saved the best till last - combining with substitute Kenneth Vargas before a composed run and finish across the opposition penalty area.

There were two new contract proposals from Hearts last month - the second with a deadline of Wednesday 31st - allied to endless speculation about Shankland moving to Rangers. All of the above would have distracted a less-secure individual. Shankland shrugged it all aside. Saturday witnessed his 21st and 22nd goals in all competitions this season as his irrepressible form showed no sign of letting up.

He explained how he coped with contract talks and constant debate about his future. "Obviously the offers come to you. The deadline being on it was probably a bit quick on my part for how much I've got to consider going forward - my age and stuff," said the striker, who has not discussed what the Hearts head coach Steven Naismith wants from him.

"Not really. I've got 18 months left on my contract. That was the biggest point, it's not as if I'm out of contract at the end of the season. The deadline thing was on the club's part to draw a line under it come the end of January and we can move on from there. I'm sure talks will continue further down the line. At this moment in time, I've got 18 months left on this deal that I'm on. We can move on with that, there's not really any mad rush to get stuff sorted as soon as possible."

Shankland is open to restarting contract discussions with Hearts later in the season. "I'm happy here. I'm really enjoying my football," he added. "I'm hoping my form and performances are showing that. I imagine, further down the line, the talks will open again. As Naisy said, we'd like to put it to bed and just concentrate on the football again. It [speculation] is part and parcel of football. If you use that in the right manner and use it to your favour, it can do you the world of good. I think I've been doing that pretty well, to be honest, and hopefully I continue to do so."

Even as a younger forward at Ayr United and Dundee United, Shankland grew used to conjecture and hypothesising. He didn't let it distract him then, either. "Not really, no, because I've kind of dealt with it since I was at Ayr. Every transfer window that came about, if I was hitting form and doing well, there would always be talk of me moving here and there. It's just part of football and you do learn," he said.

"The more experience you get, it does help. When I was younger, maybe it did get in my head a wee bit and you dare to dream, as they say, but here and now I'm experienced enough and dealt with it enough to just concentrate on my football."

Hearts supporters have gleefully watched Shankland ripple netting for more than 18 months since his transfer from the Belgian side Beerschot. He is in one of the best spells of his life. "Continuing on from last season, yes. It's been pretty good form throughout," he stated.

"I had a wee bit of an off spell at the start of the season and everybody let me know about that. I knew in my own head what I was heading to and the form I could find by getting back on the scoresheet. I've always had belief in myself. Right now, I am in good form. Whether it's the best of my career, I don't know. I'll have a think about that and get back to you."

A former United forward, he is never short of verbal taunting at Dens. He made a point of turning his back to Dundee fans in The Derry and pointing to his name after putting Hearts 3-2 ahead. "I was getting a bit of stick off them throughout," smiled Shankland. "I've played for the other team in Dundee and I've had a few good days at Dens Park, so that's probably why they don't like me. It's the part of football we all like. You enjoy the stick from the fans and I'm sure they didn't enjoy me scoring the winner."

Hearts have now taken 34 Premiership points from the last 42 available and sit 12 points clear in third place. Yet they are frequently needing to show character and resilience after falling behind in matches. "We are probably going behind too much for our liking. We need to keep coming from behind to win games," Shankland acknowledged.

"Hopefully, going forward we can make it a bit easier for ourselves. I don't think there is anything wrong with the character we are showing. We keep going right to the end and we keep getting ourselves results. Saturday was a big result, different from the other week when we were 2-0 down [also against Dundee]. You get yourself level and then go behind again. It takes big character to get back into it after that. I thought the boys did really well."