The Hearts striker has offered a frank assessment of his form.

Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland’s difficult start to the season continued in a 2-0 Europa Conference League defeat to German side Heidenheim.

During the first half at Tynecastle, the hosts took charge of proceedings and played on the front foot as they tried to break down their Bundesliga opponents. In total, the Jambos recorded 10 shots during the opening 45 minutes, but none of those led to a goal as the Edinburgh side passed up a number of good opportunities.

Shankland netted 50 goals in his first two seasons in Edinburgh and was the recipient of the Scottish Premiership Golden Boot award, becoming only the second Hearts player to achieve the feat in the 21st century after Jamie Walker.

Prior to the European Championships, many had been calling for Steve Clarke to include Shankland in his starting XI for the tournament. After Hearts’ defeat, Shankland stood in front of the TNT Sports TV camera and took responsibility for his side’s most recent defeat.

“It does feel like a missed opportunity. They are a good team playing at a good level and it was a challenge for us.” Shankland explained.

“But overall the performance was good and we created enough chances for myself. That one is on me. I should be sticking them away, so it’s disappointing. The first half was a bit gung ho and we had to go after them. They kept us running, but then we came back into it after a 15-minute lull in the second half.

“We finished strong and there was another good chance for me. Unfortunately, it’s not happening at the minute. The new manager wants us to be on the front foot all the time and that will take time for the team to switch.

“But we have been doing well and had some strong performances since he came in. This was another one and if I had taken my chances, we would have got a result.”

Shankland has managed just one goal this season and is yet to score under new manager Neil Critchley. The striker is just one goal short of equalling John Roberston’s all-time Hearts record of seven goals in Europe. He has a guaranteed three Conference League matches remaining against Cercle Brugge, Copenhagen and Petroclub to try and achieve the feat.