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Lawrence Shankland is calling on his Hearts teammates to step up as leaders on the field to push for the championship in the season’s last seven games.
The 30-year-old captain made his comeback to the first team during Saturday’s hard-fought 1-0 victory at home against Dundee. After being sidelined for two months, he entered as a second-half substitute and witnessed Derek McInnes’ squad maintain their lead at the top of the Premiership.
Despite the win, Manager McInnes expressed a desire for the team to embrace a bit more risk in their play. Shankland echoed this sentiment, urging his teammates to challenge each other and elevate their performance to recapture the energy they displayed earlier in the season.
“Some might perceive it as complaining, but I see it as setting high expectations. You can insist on better service and encourage your teammates to connect with you,” Shankland stated.
Shankland is eager to drive standards as Hearts compete for the Premiership title
Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland battles with Dundee defender Brad Halliday
“Having more leaders on the pitch will naturally enhance our standards and align with the style of play we’re aiming for. I’m not worried about that,” he added.
‘The squad will get stronger, because we’re getting the boys that have been injured back pretty soon, it looks like.
‘Obviously, the success we’ve had up until now proves that we’ve got a good squad there. When we’re at full strength, we’re really good and that belief will grow as long as we keep winning games.
‘It’s important getting people back, obviously. Every squad in Scotland will have people they see as their talismen and their better players.
‘But I think everybody who’s come into our team this year, every time they’ve been asked to, has done a really good job. Regardless of the amount they’ve had to play, whether that part be little, everybody’s come in and done their job when required.
‘It’s been a huge part of our success this season and I’m sure that’ll be a huge part of it for the rest of it as well.’
Shankland celebrates with team-mates Alexander Kyziridis and Claudio Braga
With every point becoming a prisoner, Shankland is also perfectly open about the fact he is cheering on every side that takes on title rivals Celtic and Rangers these days.
‘Of course! You want everybody around you to lose,’ he admitted. ‘That’s the way the game is.
‘As long as we keep winning our games, we don’t need to concern ourselves too much about that – but come on the other teams!’
Victory over Dundee was crucial for Hearts after losing to Kilmarnock in their previous fixture, but Shankland believes the side deserve credit for always being able to dig in and make amends for bad results.
‘We’ve done it brilliantly this season,’ he said. ‘Our evidence shows that we can bounce back after a defeat. I think that might be almost every time we’ve managed to do it. That’s important.’
Hearts were given a special welcome at the ground by supporters on Saturday and Shankland admits turning up at Tynecastle for matches now is becoming something special with history now almost within the team’s grasp.
‘I tried to come down the wrong street and I realised it was blocked off, so I had to do a quick U-turn and go back the other way to get through it,’ he said.
‘That was brilliant. The boys really appreciate the effort the Ultra boys and the rest of the support have gone to to make it a really enjoyable experience for us.
‘Just coming to play at home is great. We need everybody buying into that, going in the right direction and getting right behind the team.’
Oisin McEntee rises to head home the only goal of the game against Dundee
Shankland crosses the ball during Saturday’s 1-0 win over Dundee at Tynecastle
Shankland was a constant presence on the sidelines during his injury absence and admits the strength of the current Hearts squad made his recovery easier to deal with.
‘I tried not to get frustrated, to be honest. Obviously, the whole injury process is quite new to me,’ he said. ‘I’ve not had too many in my career that have kept me out too long. I think this eight or nine-week one was probably the longest I’ve had.
‘When the team’s all going in the same direction, everybody believing that you’re trying to achieve something, I think that helps the buy-in.
‘Usually, you’re sitting on the side hoping the day will be not too good so that you can get yourself back in, but I feel it was certainly different this time. Everybody in the collective was really good in supporting each other and it was good to be a part of that.
‘I know we’ve got the ability in the squad. You can see the quality we’ve got throughout the game to fill the gaps.
‘That helped me as well, I could be a bit more relaxed about things going forward. There wasn’t too much of a rush to get back as soon as possible. It’s been good.’