Lawrence Shankland has gone from being “in the mix” for a Scotland place to being the nation’s top striker.
That is the view of Gordon Forrest, Hearts’ assistant manager and part of the coaching staff who brought the best out of Shankland during a goal-laden spell at Dundee United.
The Gorgie captain has enjoyed a banner campaign with the Jambos, notching 31 goals and claiming PFA Scotland player of the year, Scottish Football Writers’ player of the year and cinch Premiership player of the year.
His form was deservedly rewarded with a place in Steve Clarke’s provisional squad for Euro 2024.
The best could be yet to come.
“In my opinion, Lawrence has gone from being in the (Scotland) mix, to now being the leading striker,” Forrest tells Courier Sport. “But I’m probably a bit biased on that one!”
Hitting the goal trail for Ayr United; a formative, testing time in Belgium; becoming a Hearts talisman – all have been crucial to crafting the complete frontman.
However, his two years at Tannadice, during which he scored for fun, stepped up a level, made his Scotland debut and evolved as a footballer AND a person should not be overlooked.
A Tangerine dawn
Shankland truly announced himself as a burgeoning striker of some promise with 63 goals in two seasons for Ayr, ensuring a swathe of suitors were at his door when his contract approached its expiry in the summer of 2019.
Indeed, the Honest Men rejected a £150,000 bid for his services the previous year.
But United boss Robbie Neilson and former sporting director Tony Asghar convinced Shankland his career would be better served by remaining in the Championship with the Tangerines, snubbing offers in Scotland and England.
It is understood that offering a pathway to the Premiership – AND international football – were majors selling points.
The prospect of Scotland caps may have seemed fanciful at the time, with the Terrors in the second tier, but it was a dream that would soon come true.
“It was about selling the project to a player of his quality,” recalled Forrest. “Telling him how we worked, what the club was all about and the progression what the could be for Lawrence.
“It was hugely important we got him into the club, and I think, as a coaching staff, we made him feel wanted.
“Going into that season – knowing what we were trying to achieve – he was the focal point.”
Forrest: We were rubbing our hands
To say Shankland hit the ground running would be an understatement. A League Cup strike on first outing, against Hearts, and then FOUR goals on his Championship debut for the Tangerines against Inverness.
Forrest added: “When you make a signing like that, and people are talking about all sorts of things – the finances; will it work out? – you want to get off to a flyer, and we were on the bench in that first game rubbing our hands, thinking “here we go!”
“It allowed Lawrence to settle in as a striker and gave him instant appreciation and buy-in from fans and teammates.”
He would go on to ripple the net 15 times in his opening 12 outings for his new club.
“I played with Lawrence at Aberdeen,” Mark Reynolds, United club captain upon Shankland’s arrival, tells Courier Sport.
“From seeing him then – a young lad away from his parents, starting to make his way in life – to the Lawrence Shankland who turned up at Dundee United was incredible.
“He was ready to be the big bull and the main man. Physically and emotionally, he had matured.”
Shankland’s international bow
Subscribing to the theory that the goals don’t move regardless of level, Steve Clarke named Shankland in his Scotland squad to face Russia and San Marino in October 2019.
Shankland was sufficiently bright in a 45-minute cameo in Moscow – an otherwise dismal 4-0 defeat – to earn a start in the second game. He opened his account for the national team in a 6-0 victory over San Marino.
“To get that recognition for a player in the Championship was even more special,” added Forrest. “That was a huge part of his journey and was spoken about when we were first bringing him to the club.
“We asked, “where do you want to go?” Playing for Scotland was one of those aspirations, and we believed United could help him towards that.
“Did it come earlier that we all expected? Perhaps. But Lawrence always had belief in himself, and we had belief in him.”
Reynolds: Shankland will be thankful for wing stints
When the pandemic curtailed the campaign in March 2020, ultimately rendering United champions on a points-per-game basis, Shankland already had 29 goals to his name.
An opportunity to star in the top-flight loomed, albeit in front of bleak empty stands.
But goals were harder to come by.
Partly due to the step up in class; partly the way he was utilised by Micky Mellon, who succeeded Neilson following his shock return to Hearts.
Shankland was expected to fulfil a more diligent defensive role, often charged with tracking back in wide areas while Marc McNulty led the line. The merits of that – given Shankland’s subsequent success – is often debated by Arabs, in hindsight.
“As we developed and got better as a team, so has Lawrence,” Mellon told Courier Sport in 2021.
“He has not only got better in his one-vs-ones from the front in closing down, but he is big for us in order to get us up the pitch; to link and build attacks. He has improved that side of his game massively. His work rate is phenomenal.”
Different layers
Reynolds added: “At the time, Lawrence probably wasn’t happy being pushed out wide because he wants to be the main man through the middle, scoring the goals and linking the play.
“However, I’m sure – looking at his overall game – he’ll now be thankful that he did that.”
“Lawrence has added all sorts of different layers to his game; his hold-up play, linking up, pressing,” noted Forrest. “To this day (at Hearts), we know that if we ask Lawrence to do a job, he’ll do it.
“He’s a striker and he scores goals, but there are other things within the game that we ask him to do defensively – defending the front post at set-pieces; dropping a little deeper for the press – and he just gets on with it and commits 100%.”
Training body and mind
As Shankland became a more well-rounded player, he also pursued ways to strengthen his mentality.
He registered a modest – by his own lofty standards – tally of nine goals in 2020/21 and endured some natural dips in confidence.
Shankland started to work with mindfulness coach John Johnstone, the author of “Master Your Confidence: The elite footballer’s guide to high performance”, who has also worked with players such as John Souttar, Scott Wright and Greg Docherty.
“Lawrence has spoken in the past about how, at certain points, his confidence and belief hasn’t quite been where he needed it to be,” said Johnstone. “There were certain things that he felt could be improved on.
“One minute a footballer can think, “this game is so, so simple”, then something might happen and, two weeks later, they are thinking, “I can’t trap this ball or play a simple pass”. So, it’s important to understand WHY, and to stay on top of that.”
Johnstone added: “We are starting to see is a real appreciation of the mental side of the game. Whether that is due to Anthony Gordon talking about it on “The Overlap”, or other podcasts. More players are willing to discuss it.
“It normalises how important that side of things is – not just as football players, but developing as human beings. That awareness is going through the roof.”
“A totally different animal”
As Asghar told the Daily Record in March, “he (Shankland) had to deal with a lot of speculation at Dundee United, like he is now doing with Hearts, in every transfer window. I know it doesn’t faze him.”
That speculation came to fruition in August 2021 when Shankland joined Beerschot for a fee in the region of £1 million.
His time in Belgium would prove challenging, with the Scot abroad finding the net five times for a struggling side that ultimately crashed to relegation. Again, Shankland was deployed in myriad roles.
While the results on the pitch were rather miserable, Johnstone argues that it helped to shape the man who has gone on to score 58 goals for Hearts and book a place on Scotland’s flight to the Euros.
“People might look at Lawrence’s spell in Belgium and label it a failure,” said Johnstone. “But I honestly don’t believe he would be doing the things he is today if not for that experience.
“From a mental side of things, I see a totally different animal.”
Reynolds added: “The sky was always the limit for him. It was just about Lawrence taking his opportunities and continuing to apply himself. He is a top-class finisher.
“When Lawrence would get criticised for “only” scoring in the Championship, I would say, “well, you can only score against what you are put up against”. And he has done that with every step up.
“There’s no reason that can’t continue.”
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