Hearts fans react to Lawrence Shankland moment as captain accused of petulance.

Lawrence Shankland has appeared frustrated throughout the season.

After scoring 31 goals and 59 strikes in his previous two seasons, the Hearts captain has only scored once in his current season.

Last season, some said that the Jambos relied too heavily on the frontman, with others unable to stand up. The squad that was at the bottom of the Premiership before Saturday’s triumph against St Mirren has consistently struggled when the player is out of form.

The 4-0 victory at Tynecastle may have improved the mood at Tynecastle and helped persuade some supporters to support new manager Neil Critchley, despite initial criticism of his hiring.

Lawrence Shankland has appeared frustrated throughout the season.

After scoring 31 goals and 59 strikes in his previous two seasons, the Hearts captain has only scored once in his current season.

Last season, some said that the Jambos relied too heavily on the frontman, with others unable to stand up. The squad that was at the bottom of the Premiership before Saturday’s triumph against St Mirren has consistently struggled when the player is out of form.

The 4-0 victory at Tynecastle may have improved the mood at Tynecastle and helped persuade some supporters to support new manager Neil Critchley, despite initial criticism of his hiring.

Hearts fans respond to the Shankland event.

Critchley replaced the 29-year-old on 65 minutes, with the Jambos already leading 2-0.Shankland was absent from the Scotland team last week due to a hamstring injury and may have been receiving medical attention.

However, supporters noticed their leader marching straight up the tunnel after getting hooked and then failing to address those in the stands, along with his teammates, after full-time, raising concerns.

One person posted on social media, “Immediately running up the tunnel at full time, while his teammates acknowledged the fans, was disgraceful behaviour for a so-called captain.” A fantastic player, but not a captain. “Petulent and pathetic.”

Another person stated, “The biggest disappointment today was Shankland down the tunnel at full time.” Not the conduct I expect from any ‘captain’ at Heart of Midlothian.”

Another said, “Another poor performance from the ‘captain’, who was justifiably substituted. He has to get his act together, since his attitude is terrible. “No player is bigger than the club.”

While another ominously remarked, “He’s done.” Never forget his few seasons, but that’s enough for now.”

However, not everyone was unhappy about the situation, with some Jambos believing there is most certainly a perfectly reasonable explanation for everything.

One remarked, “I’m glad to see NC sub off Shankland today, but I’m not buying this “he’s in a huff” nonsense. The man pulled out of Scotland duty owing to a hamstring injury. I assume NC enquired how long he could play today… what was the answer? With a 2-0 lead, there was no reason to risk him further due to his busy schedule and upcoming games. If he’s upset, it’s because the goals aren’t coming in for him; personally, I’d like all of my strikers to be furious if they don’t score.”

Another stated, “He’s held the captaincy, got an assist, and hasn’t thrown the toys out of the pram as far as I can tell. If anything, he has to be scoring to receive the deal he wants. Hopefully they score on Sunday.”

While another remarked, “People around me are reporting he did nothing whole game. People forget that the first goal was going to be crucial, and he had a huge role in it with a beautiful assist. I understand he appears agitated at times, but he is not getting many opportunities to score, which must annoy him.”

Is there a problem with Shankland at Hearts?

When situations like these happen, it’s easy to overreact and believe that something huge is going on. It’s crucial to realise, however, that this is not always true.

Shankland is well-known for his nasty body language when things don’t go his way, which sparked a similar controversy last season when he struggled for goals early in the season.

Following that, he scored 31 goals, the finest goalscoring season of his career, and earned the admiration of the Gorgie fans.

So it’s probably reading too much into it to conclude there’s a problem this time. He can settle it by scoring in Europe on Thursday and against Hibs on Sunday!

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