Tony Bloom comes with Hearts guarantee as Jambos star's ex-teammate says he's on track for legend status
Hearts have had several key stars contribute to their ongoing title campaign in the Premiership.
A former Hearts star’s teammate insists he’s heading towards cementing himself as a Jambos legend - and success with Tony Bloom involved is nailed on.
The Tynecastle side have mounted a title challenge, just months after Brighton chairman Bloom invested in the Premiership club, and insisted glory would come to Gorgie within a decade. Former Dundee United and Partick Thistle defender Frederic Frans has watched Bloom’s investment into Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in his native Belgium turn them into title winners, and he can see joy being had at Hearts too.
Key to that on the pitch is Lawrence Shankland, who Frans played with at Beerschot. It proved a difficult stint for the Scotland international but he’s enjoyed a goal-laden Jambos stint since joining in 2022. Frans reckons fans in Belgium didn’t see the best of Shankland, who deserves praise for putting himself in the conversation to cement a lasting maroon legacy.
How did Lawrence Shankland fare in Belgium before coming to Hearts?
He told Gazet van Antwerpen: “Shankie is a true centre forward, but often had to play on the right wing out of necessity. At times, he was almost a right-back. He defended conscientiously, but because of those sacrifices, he didn’t get into the box often enough. Sometimes he even sat on the bench, which was incomprehensible.
“Had Shankland not been used incorrectly at Beerschot, he would have scored more and then a Belgian top club would have come in for him. He is not extremely fast or strong, but the most important thing is he can finish. As a coach, I would really like to have Shankie in my team. At Hearts he is becoming a legend.
“There are still many players from my time (in Scotland at Dundee United and Partick Thistle), with a lot of experience. A lot of talent has now been added to that. Hearts was already quite a big club; there are an average of 25k supporters in the stadium and the derby against Hibernian is very much alive.
What will Tony Bloom ensure at Hearts?
“Tony Bloom is now ensuring success, as he does everywhere. He really wants to nestle between those two top clubs with Hearts. Moreover, Hearts is lucky that Celtic and Rangers are also just less this year.”
A 2-2 draw played out with Celtic in Hearts’ most recent fixture, holding a four-point gap over second-placed Rangers, while the Hoops are third and six behind McInnes’ team. The Hearts head coach said after the Gorgie draw: "On chances created and overall territory, it felt like we were the better team and were the more likely to win it. It was a great free-kick by Celtic to take the lead, but we gathered ourselves well.
"The game played out the way we wanted. We unsettled Celtic, but we missed chances. We needed to hem them in a bit more and we asked for that at half-time. We are just annoyed that we did not stay 1-1 for longer and we have to pick ourselves up again and the goal is no more than we deserved. We are a wee bit disappointed that we did not take all three points. Most teams would have been happy with a point against a team like Celtic, but we rattled them.”