How Lawrence Shankand got out of his Hearts funk with help of 'failed footballer' as he opens up on fan abuse
Lawrence Shankland isn’t holding it against those Hearts fans who jeered him after he missed a penalty against Cercle Bruges 11 days ago.
For one thing, he knows it was partly the beer talking. “They're stronger than here as well!” he said. He continued: “Obviously I heard it and it's not ideal, but there's been times where they've been really good to me here as well. It’s not something I am worried about.”
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Hide AdHe knew things would come good again eventually. And, in his next-but-one game, with Hearts hosting old foes Dundee, it did finally come together for the struggling striker, whose mental skills coach has been earning his corn in recent weeks.
John Johnstone is the name of the man with one of the toughest recent assignments in British football - help get Lawrence Shankland scoring again. A double in a 2-0 win on Saturday, the striker’s first goals since September, represented a big breakthrough. Whether the dam has now burst remains to be seen.
Johnstone’s own testimonial is disarmingly candid. “I am a failed footballer who struggled to play anywhere near to his potential due to struggles with confidence, belief and certainty,” he writes on his website. He has been working with Shankland for several years but things were getting serious in recent weeks. The striker was struggling with the footballer’s version of the yips. With fans turning against Shankland amid uncertainty over the skipper’s future intentions, Johnstone knew his client was in a bind.
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After watching the striker slash an important late penalty over the bar in Belgium, Johnstone was quick to reach for his phone. “Maybe an hour after it,” revealed Shankland. “He just asked how I was. I said: ‘fine…’ He was like, ‘Right, feel sorry for yourself for the night, then we're back to it tomorrow.'” Such straight talking has helped him out of this funk.
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Hide Ad“It was probably one of the lowest nights I've had in years,” reflected Shankland. “I didn't get much sleep, but the Aberdeen game came pretty fast. I actually started the Aberdeen game all right, I felt, in terms of how I played.
“There was a level of performance there,” he added. “I got myself back out there and I was back in front of the stadium playing again. Sometimes that's the hardest part, just going out there and making another mistake, as daft as that sounds.”
He credits Johnstone with helping him deal with the challenge of getting back out there in front of over 18,000 people. He also noted new manager Neil Critchley’s support, which has been expressed by continuing to pick him week in, week out. “He never owed me anything,” said Shankland.
The trick is keeping on doing it, including against FC Copenhagen in the Conference League on Thursday night. The coming weeks will tell if this is a genuine return to scoring form. There is an enforced hiatus on Sunday when Shankland sits out the trip to Kilmarnock due to suspension after breaching the disciplinary points total with a second half booking for high feet against Dundee.
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Hide AdThat was one frustration on a very positive afternoon for the 29-year-old. Was failing to complete his hat-trick another? He had an hour to do so. “Listen, when you've been on the run I have, you get two you should be happy about it,” he said, not unreasonably.
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