Lawrence Shankland reveals his view on his Hearts future and admits they are the biggest club he's played for

Summer speculation over the striker’s future could become intense

Season-defining moments are not always obvious at the time. It often takes a few months to realise the significance of one specific game, one particular goal, or even one inspired roasting. For Hearts, a dressing-room rant from captain Lawrence Shankland at Aberdeen last December now seems pivotal to their surge to third place and European league-stage football.

Shankland’s goal against his old club put Hearts 1-0 ahead but a poor second half saw the hosts recover and win 2-1. The Tynecastle side lost at home to Rangers the previous week but the manner of their capitulation at Pittodrie left Shankland furious. The club captain did not hold back at full-time. With Hearts struggling to build real momentum amid criticism from some supporters, they needed a response and got exactly that.

Steven Naismith’s side won 11 of their next 12 games as Shankland continued a rich vein of scoring form. He struck his 30th goal of the club campaign against St Mirren on Wednesday and can now reflect on that period during autumn and early winter. “I think the unrest and that stuff probably just came from noise outside, but we believed in the changing room,” he explained after winning Scottish Football Writers’ Player of the Year.

“There were difficult spells and difficult games but us as a group could see ourselves progressing in the way we were trying to make things happen. Eventually, we got into a really good rhythm of winning games and got where we wanted to be. The biggest thing is we didn't find ourselves miles away from our objective and where we wanted to be points-wise. We weren't getting results but teams around about us weren't getting away.

“I think everyone was trying to work toward it changing but that doesn't happen overnight. You've just got to believe in what you are working on and keep believing in it that it will become successful, which it did. There were new faces in there, Kenny [Vargas] coming in, people you are not used to playing with, and that takes time to gel. Barrie [McKay] picked up his injuries and stuff.

“There were quite a lot of different changes in the front areas at times and even with the team selection, it changed quite a lot. These things take time. Once we got into a rhythm everyone in the squad knew their job, no matter who came in, and were doing it to a high standard.”

That Aberdeen fixture is near the forefront of Shankland’s mind when it comes to pinpointing what changed for Hearts. They beat Celtic 2-0 in Glasgow the following weekend to begin a 12-game unbeaten run. “I think Aberdeen was the most frustrating one,” he said. “In the first half, we felt we had played well and things were going the way we wanted them to go, but we somehow allowed the game to get away from us and we got beat. I think the positives of the first half gave us a bit of 'if we get that right over 90 minutes we will give ourselves a chance of winning games'.

“You take confidence from a win at Parkhead, albeit we didn't play our best. We got two goals early on and defended so well. When you go there you need to. The confidence and belief we took from that was probably a big turning point. We went on a really good run. When you go to Parkhead there's not really any harder places to go and get a win. We probably found a lot of the boys found a lot of belief.”

He revealed some of the rage which engulfed him at Pittodrie and how he conveyed it to team-mates. “It was probably the angriest I've ever been after a game. I like to think I don't flip my lid too much but that was probably a bit of an exception. When I got on the bus I thought: ‘I don't even know what I just said in there.’ I don't think I had many pals left either!

“It was probably the right time, in terms of inside the changing room, for something to be said. It falls on my role [as captain] to take it upon myself. To be fair, I don't like having a go at people, I like to encourage them but that day I just felt something had to change at that point. I was on the phone to my dad after it and I told him. After the unbeaten run, he said: ‘It clearly worked and you made the right decision.’ It's down to hard work from the boys. It is not me that's turned it. There was obviously something that dropped between the squad and that it had to change.

“I think I would have done it no matter if I was captain or not. I was just in that mood. I managed to get a goal up there as well. It took me 10 years! I eventually got one. It was just one of those games where it was frustrating but it was probably the turning point there. After that, the boys did really well. What I said hasn’t been brought back up! We'll just settle on that it worked.”

Rangers visit Tynecastle on Saturday on the final weekend of the Premiership season. Neither they nor Hearts have anything to play for, although Naismith wants his team to win to reach the 70-point mark. “You just set yourself small targets, I think boys will have personal targets,” said Shankland. “For myself, try to get more goals, finish the season strongly. The biggest thing will be as a collective. We've had a really good season. We don't want to dwindle out and leave the season with no feel-good factor. It's one we can look forward to and hopefully we can eventually beat Rangers.”

After that, Shankland’s long-term future is likely to be the subject of much speculation once again this summer. Having hitherto not signed any of the two new contracts offered by the Hearts hierarchy, the striker outlined his own viewpoint. “For me, I am here,” he said. “I am contracted to Hearts for another season. My mindset wouldn't change from that until the day comes when Hearts say: ‘We're punting you!’ Of course, we've got the Euros but when I come back and get involved it will be straightforward.”

He remains grateful to those in Gorgie for paying a six-figure transfer fee to bring him back to Scotland from Belgian club Beerschot two years ago. “I think it is the opportunity they have given me to play. It's the biggest club in Scotland that I've played for,” remarked the player. “On the back of my spell in Belgium, people had raised eyebrows when they did sign me. The chance they have given me to show what I can do, the opportunities and the platform. That's the biggest thing.”

He won’t be popular at Pittodrie as an ex-Aberdeen player commenting that Hearts are a bigger club. “I mean that. I'm not popular up there anyway. I've no pals up there so I can deal with that,” he laughed. The player has also represented Queen’s Park, Dunfermline Athletic, St Mirren, Greenock Morton, Ayr United and Dundee United as well as Beerschot.

Scotland’s European Championship matches in Germany are also high on Shankland’s list of priorities. He is expected to be named in the final 26-man squad after being included for March’s friendlies against Netherlands and Northern Ireland. It isn’t dominating his every thought, however. “You know it is coming. To be involved in the last international camp before it and to play was a big opportunity for me to show I can do the role that was needed in the team,” said Shankland, who played from the start in the 4-0 defeat by the Dutch in Amsterdam.

“After that, to come away from that camp, disregarding the result, it wasn't too bad a night apart from the missed opportunity. I thought I did alright. I won't play against many better defenders than Virgil van Dijk and Nathan Ake. It was a really good test for me and one I enjoyed. After that it was about parking that and back to club football. It is on the horizon now and coming pretty fast. You do turn an eye to it but the biggest thing is everybody including myself will be hoping to stay fit and finish strongly.”

Recent Champions League matches have allowed an opportunity to scrutinise German defenders before Scotland’s opening game. “Aye! When you look at the semi-finals of the Champions League you've got a lot of German defenders and some real big names and talents in there,” acknowledged Shankland. “That's what international tournaments are all about and why you want to go and play against the top-level teams and top opposition players.

“When you go to the first game against Germany it is going to be a massive test but one you can go and thrive on. Look what Wales did not too long ago, they went really far in the tournament. There is always one team who springs a surprise. There is nothing to say it can’t be us.

“Of course it's exciting to play at a major tournament. It would be an amazing personal achievement to be involved in that and something you dream at as a kid. You watch them growing up and you always remember your first tournament. The first World Cup and Euros I remember are Brazil [winning in 2002] and Greece in 2004. They leave good memories. To play in one would be special.”

If Scotland are seeking inspiration in Germany, the Greeks of 2004 offer plenty. “You never know. We know we have got a good squad. Up until recently, we've had really tough tests. Everything was looking really rosy but things change. You are playing against top-level opposition, it is going to challenge you and hopefully from those games we have learned lessons.”