Scottish Premiership win at Ibrox underlines Scotland striker’s quality

Let’s not kid anyone here. Had Rangers offered Lawrence Shankland a contract over the summer, he would almost certainly have signed it. He could then have been leading their attack against Hearts on Saturday. Instead, the Edinburgh club’s diligent transfer window work saw them negotiate hard to retain their captain on a new deal. Their reward came at Ibrox.

The irony of Shankland’s two goals in a historic 2-0 victory won’t be lost on many. Hearts left Glasgow grinning from ear to ear on Saturday evening after only their fourth Ibrox win this Century. The previous one was in 2014. Shankland’s instinctive angled finish in the first half preceded a rebound conversion for the second goal after Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland saved his penalty.

The controversial porn star Bonnie Blue attended the match, but there was nothing bonnie about the Blues. Home fans’ embarrassment stemmed from their team’s ineptness. Shankland’s leadership, intelligence and scoring instinct was everything Rangers lacked as pressure intensified on manager Russell Martin with chants of “Martin, Martin, get to F***”. The Ibrox hierarchy spent more than £10m on strikers Bojan Miovski and Youssef Chermiti, yet the guy who was available for free just along the road demonstrated that he is a far more accomplished footballer.

Shankland seemed to enjoy orchestrating a famous Hearts win. He signed a three-year contract in July after a protracted saga of talks. His form so far this season had not exactly been scintillating, it must be said, however he produced when it mattered most in Glasgow. The Tynecastle side look to be building real momentum sitting unbeaten at the top of the Scottish Premiership under Derek McInnes.

Other smart signings this year also influenced this triumph. Portuguese forward Claudio Braga was the best player on the pitch, with Greek winger Alexandros Kyziridis also a constant danger. Left-back Harry Milne was an odd but successful selection wide on the right. In defence, old dependables Stephen Kingsley and Craig Halkett provided a foundation for victory.

Shankland heard the relentless rumours about a possible move to Rangers earlier this year and last year, but they didn’t come forward with any offer. Saturday evolved into his most enjoyable afternoon at Ibrox. “Definitely as a Hearts player anyway,” he said. “It's been a long time coming, getting that result. I’m delighted for the travelling support. They've travelled for many years waiting on that moment, so it's a really good result for us.

“I've always had that belief in myself as a player. Rumours are rumours, the speculation gets spoken about, that's what happens in football and it's part and parcel. I've never really got too caught up in things like that, I just always concentrate on my job and the club I'm working at. I'm delighted to be here this season. I'm enjoying it so far and this is a really good result for us. It's a good moment.

“It's been a really good start, there's no denying that. Five games in now, sitting with 13 points after this amount of games, you kind of grumble when you need to be happy with it but it's a good start and that's what it is. We need to keep building, we need to keep winning games which is important. Coming to Ibrox and winning breeds confidence amongst the group and boys will get a good feeling for it. For some of them, it was their first time playing in that sort of arena in front of so many people, so they'll take a lot from it - and it always helps when you win the game.

“We had full belief in ourselves on Saturday. We felt positive, I said that through the week. There has been a good feeling amongst the camp all week and I had a good feeling about the game. Not going to lie, I haven't had that many times going to Ibrox but I was really confident in just the feeling that we had amongst the boys. You need to go out there and do your job, you need to do it well and obviously we got a wee bit of luck with the goals. They had a goal chalked off but I think you need that [fortune] on your side as well, and I'm just delighted with the win.

“The confidence has been building over the past few weeks, not just this week but in previous weeks. Obviously last week we had an international break. We went in after a good win and the boys had a nice break, went to see their families and everybody came back fresh at the start of the week. Training has been good, there's been a good feeling and I just felt like everybody was really looking forward to Saturday’s game.”

Rangers angry as fans turn on Russell Martin with team 10th in Premiership

Braga’s energy, skill and desire make for a top player - one Rangers couldn’t cope with. He and Shankland are working to develop their attacking partnership and there are signs of progress. Shankland’s ball sent Braga in behind the Rangers defence before the Portuguese returned a pass to his captain to score the opening goal.

“It clicked a wee bit on Saturday, it was good to see,” said Shankland. “Braga was really good, really intelligent. It's a hard task up there when you need to do so much defensive work and you really need to think about the game. It’s obviously part of the game that he's learning with being here and I thought he did it really well. He took everything on board that we spoke about as well, so the connection came together a wee bit there. I thought it was really good and I’m personally delighted getting the two goals.”

Rangers claimed Shankland’s opener should have been disallowed for handball by the Hearts captain before his forward ball to Braga. “I'm not going to lie, it hit my hand and my arm in the build up so I kind of knew that,” said Shankland. “I was running forward thinking, ‘we better not score here,’ because I wasn't quite sure on the rule whether it counted or not. I couldn't remember the touches that happened in between, then Braga slipped me down the side and it was a good finish. I was just thinking, ‘not again’, because my goal against Aberdeen was chalked off a few weeks ago. When the ref pointed to the [centre] spot I was delighted.

“Rangers were appealing for it. I never really asked, to be honest. As soon as they gave the goal I just celebrated and kept quiet but I'd heard from people that I think the Rangers defender touched it to start with? Maybe it starts a new phase of play or something. It's quite a blurry rule and it's not quite clear but I'm just delighted that it was given. That wee bit of luck, it's not been on my side for a while I felt. On Saturday, I get two wee bits so hopefully that's changing.”

There was also an element of fortune about his second as Butland’s penalty save fell kindly for the striker to atone. He explained the instinctive thought after failing to convert the initial spot-kick. “Get after it - because I knew I hadn't caught it right,” remarked Shankland. “I never really changed my mind. The boys were saying he went quite early and I could have maybe changed it but that time I didn't. As soon as I kicked it, I knew I hadn't quite caught it right. Thankfully, that wee bit of luck was on my side and it bounced back to me. It was a relief to see it hit the net the second time around.”

There is no question local unrest helped Hearts’ cause on the day. Ibrox was in complete disarray for most of the afternoon as Rangers supporters vented their anger at Martin. Four draws and a defeat from the opening five league games leaves them 10th in the Premiership table. “Well we play at Tynecastle every week so we know how it feels,” joked Shankland. “When you're at home and you feel that pressure and the crowd are getting frustrated, it does go onto the pitch.

“It's natural human beings out there and it can get into the players. When you come and you can use that, you need to, you would be daft not to. Going a goal ahead helps and builds that and Rangers are trying to break us down but I thought we kept our shape really well. Our discipline was really good out of possession, and that's probably what won us the game to be honest.”

The burning question now is: Will there be a new and sustained challenge at the top of the Premiership? “Hearts!” exclaimed Shankland. “Of course, everybody would want to see that but we're not getting ahead of ourselves here. We've had a good start to the league, we're five games in and we'll just look to keep taking game by game and try to win them all.”