Ask any Rangers fans and they’ll tell you that Lawrence Shankland was the difference between the Ibrox team that won the title last season and bottling it at the final hurdle.
Philippe Clemens his underperformance is somehow driven Rangers team back in a title race after taking over the lead in October, only to see his team screw up in the closing stages.
But there are among the Rangers support who believe that the Ibrox draw against Celtic and those bitter results against Dundee and Ross County may not have been achieved with the right firepower.
Lawrence Shankland – named Player of the Year last season and also a blue nose from his youth – was seen by many supporters as the answer.
But as Rangers prepare to welcome Hearts to Ibrox in the Scottish premier leaguethe shape of the Hearts talisman has fallen off a cliff, belying rumors of £5m valuations.
Photo by Euan Cherry/Getty Images
Lawrence Shankland is having a baronial season
Hearts’ start to the season was so poor under Steven Naismith that the former Rangers striker was eventually dropped and replaced by Neil Critchley.
Hearts have since experienced a revival in fortunes under Steven Gerrard’s former assistant, who insists he is has a plan to take all three points against Rangers at Ibrox.
But what the 46-year-old manager has not been able to do is get the stuttering Lawrence Shankland fit and shooting again as the Scotland international has limped through the season.
A paltry return of one goal in 17 games has increased the pressure on the 29-year-old striker, who is out of contract with Tynecastle at the end of the season.
After receiving another clean sheet this week as Hearts succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Heidenheim in the Europa Conference League, the pressure is mounting on the Edinburgh striker.
Since that solitary goal in the 1-1 draw against Ross County at the end of September, Shankland has also been on a run of eight games without a goal.
Now that Rangers’ financial situation is well documentedPerhaps the decision not to move to Shankland in the middle of his 31-goal campaign last season proved fiscally responsible.
While some Rangers fans may grumble, Hearts CEO Andrew McKinlay has previously claimed there was ‘never any indication’ of a Gers approach for the striker.
Rangers-linked striker admits ‘it’s not happening’
Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland also took responsibility for shaking up his lines in the defeat to Bundesliga team Heidenheim this week.
The Rangers-linked Scotland star has not found his shooting boots all season and has once again been found wanting on the European stage.
A despondent Shankland admitted that it is ‘not happening’ for himself at the moment and stressed that the inability to ‘get a result’ rests on his shoulders.
‘It feels like a missed opportunity’ Shankland said you should come full time. “They are a good team playing at a good level and it was a challenge for us.
“But overall the performance was good and we created enough chances for myself.
“It’s mine. I should keep them away, so it’s disappointing.
“The first half was a bit gung ho and we had to go after them.
“They kept us going but then we got back into it after a 15-minute break in the second half.
“We finished strong and there was still a good chance for me.
“Unfortunately that is not happening at the moment.
“The new manager wants us to always be at the forefront and that will take time before the team can switch gears.
“But we have done well and put in some strong performances since he came in.
“This was another one and if I had taken my chances we could have gotten a result.”
Related posts
Leave a Reply