Lawrence Shankland reveals how close he came to leaving Hearts and the talks which shaped a Tynecastle rebuild
Scotland striker is targeting the Premiership title
There were times last summer when Lawrence Shankland believed he may have kicked his last ball as a Hearts player. Out of contract, he considered various options including moving abroad. Derek McInnes’ appointment led to talks over a squad rebuild after the Tynecastle side finished seventh last season. Shankland opted to stay and found himself on a rollercoaster ride heading towards a historic Scottish league title win. He is also nominated for PFA Scotland Player of the Year.
It’s been some year. Shankland is 30, an experienced Scotland internationalist who has represented eight SPFL clubs in total. Nothing could prepare him for what lay ahead in this, his fourth season at Hearts. He eventually agreed a three-year contract last July after protracted negotiations and got down to work alongside McInnes. The pair were determined to effect rapid improvement on the previous campaign, but winning the league was not even contemplated.
Shankland explained how close he came to moving on, and the discussions which led to him staying in Gorgie. He admitted he would have been kicking himself had he left and missed out on this exhilarating title challenge. “Aye, you would have. You would have. I don't know if Hearts would be in it, right enough!” he joked “When you think about it like that, if Hearts were to replicate the same season, you'd be kicking yourself, you would. There's no denying that. By the by, I'm here. I've played a part in this and hopefully we can go and finish it strong.”
When asked if there was a point he thought he was destined to leave, he replied: “Possibly. There were a couple of options at hand, but it was more family stuff than that. I'd have been moving for other reasons. There's more to life than finance at times. You need to do what's right for your family. That was why I decided to stay. Obviously, as I said, the manager wanted me to stay. I wasn't too sure on leaving Hearts the way I'd finished that season as well. I felt like from a selfish point of view, I felt I deserved better than if I'd left on those terms, and I wanted to correct that. I was confident I could, so that was why I was happy.”
Detailed talks with McInnes underpinned the forward’s final decision to sign another three-year Hearts contract. “When I signed, the manager had just came in the door and I had the experience of being at Aberdeen with him when I was younger. It's slightly different now. I'm further down the line and, obviously, I'm more established in my career. But I kind of knew what I was going to get out of him.
“He’s a good man-manager, he gets boys in a good headspace and he builds a solid team in the changing room. So, I kind of knew what I was getting into and I think it's shown, really. I think teams can reflect their manager quite a lot in terms of personality and stuff. I feel that we've done that this year. I think the biggest thing is he just gave us confidence to go and use our ability as players to go and try and win games. Frankly, we've managed to do that.”
There wasn’t even a thought of winning the Premiership when the player put pen to paper. Now, Hearts could be just three wins from being crowned champions for the first time since 1960. “No, there was no talk of that at all,” said Shankland. “I think nobody would have really mentioned it off the back of last season. It was a wee bit of a rebuilding job.
“Just establishing ourselves in the top end of the league again was the main ambition. Last year was disappointing but, when you finish so low, you just want to get yourself back in the top six and see how far that can take you. It helps when you've got a manager who's hungry to work with you, wants you back. That's obviously something that is up there. You want your manager to back you as a player.”
Rangers visit Tynecastle on Monday for a potentially-pivotal match in the title race. Hearts know they are in a position to kill off the Ibrox club, who are four points behind them in the table with four games remaining. However, they also know there is little room for error in the most competitive top-six in history. “It would make it really difficult for them if we were to beat them, aye. It becomes a pretty big mountain to climb with three games left. There's no denying that,” admitted Shankland. “So, you could see it in that way. For us, it's just about going and winning all games. I think we just see it as an opportunity to keep ourselves at the top of the league as long as we keep winning.
“After we played everybody twice, I think you get an idea that you've got a good points return and you're facing what you're facing, obviously. As I said, teams strengthen in January transfer window, but we're confident with the squad that we've got. We've shown we can pick up points and the more that continues, it breeds confidence. The more games you win, it breeds more confidence. It's just about staying on it and that's what we've done.”
Footballers wouldn’t be human if they didn’t dream and Shankland is honest enough to say he has thought quite a few times about lifting the Premiership trophy as Hearts captain. “Aye, definitely, aye. I think when you get to this stage, you need to. It's so close,” he acknowledged. “It is doable for us, obviously, we're in a good position. As I've said before, we've worked so hard to put ourselves in this position. It's just important we continue to do the things that have brought us success to keep us there.”
He is also candid enough to admit that he would be “open to a party” if it happened. He wouldn’t be alone. Shankland hasn’t booked any summer holidays either. “I don't want to go on holiday. I want to go to the World Cup.” Scotland’s first experience of football’s biggest stage in 28 years carries plenty allure. First, there is club business to deal with. A nice bonus for Shankland is his Player of the Year nomination alongside his Tynecastle team-mate Claudio Braga.
“It's always nice to get nominated by the players in the league and that's who you play against,” he said. “The criticism is obviously something you have to deal with. I can understand football differently from the emotional supporter and I get what's going on obviously on the pitch. I think maybe not being as successful as you could be, and last season numbers-wise, that's what I get judged on and it wasn't the best for me.
“I can see the bigger picture and I knew sometimes it wasn't as bad as it may look. Sometimes I could understand I wasn't having a brilliant season but it's part of football and it happens. As I said, I'm prepared to deal with all the situations and then eventually when you go full circle again and you're in the good spot, you're ready to deal with that as well. I’m just happy this season has been the way it has and hopefully I can finish it strongly.”