Exclusive:Lawrence Shankland reveals his thoughts on his Hearts future and the prospect of staying on at Tynecastle
Lawrence Shankland says he is open to the idea of continuing at Hearts past the summer, even if his contract is nearing the end of its term. The captain and senior Tynecastle officials are scheduled to have additional discussions to see if he can be convinced to sign a new contract. Though he believes there is no need to extrapolate too much from any conversations, Shankland is prepared to speak.
As of right now, he will have the freedom to choose his own destiny when his contract expires at the end of the season. The Edinburgh News reported last week that Hearts had not given out on retaining the Scotland international, who is 29 years old. Early last year, they made two offers to extend his contract, but both times the conditions were turned down.
Shankland discussed his future in an exclusive interview with the Edinburgh News. When it reaches a point in the season where discussions are necessary, he stated, “I think it will be the situation with everybody who is out of contract – whether you’re staying or you’re going and the club’s plans for the future.” Although I wouldn’t speculate too much, I think the discussions will take place eventually. I believe that we will prioritize finishing this week before addressing that.
“I’ve never said that I wouldn’t stay,” he remarked when asked if he would be willing to continue with Hearts past the summer. A long time ago, in January 2024, they made me an offer of a contract. Since then, we haven’t really discussed it and have simply moved on. The club and I were at the moment at ease with the future course of events, so whatever happens, happens. Let’s see. There is nothing particularly profound about it at that time. We’ll just have to wait and see what occurs.
Hearts defeated St Johnstone 2-1 on Sunday to start a run of three Premiership games in eight days. They head to Easter Road to play rivals Hibs four days after hosting St Mirren at Tynecastle on Wednesday. Shankland said, “We’re off to a good start and we knew it was three really important games this week.” “Now that we have three points, we can focus on the next two games, which include the derby over the weekend and a home game on Wednesday. We can see where it has led us, and maybe by the end of the week, we’ll have a healthy points return.
“I believe that Sunday’s conditions were challenging for both teams, and St Johnstone is a team that enjoys trying to play football as well. On a challenging pitch, two teams attempted to play a little, but I believe there was occasionally some good play given the circumstances. Although it was challenging, we should be happy with the outcome overall. You just need to go right to the point on days like today, even though the performance was passable at moments.
Both goals were scored for the Edinburgh club in Perth by Belgian attacker Elton Kabangu, who was on loan. On both occasions, Shankland claimed an assist. “Clearly, it’s beneficial for Elton to score a few goals and lead us to victory, and that’s what matters most,” he said. Shankland scored the first goal with a left-footed shot across goal that was perfectly positioned for Kabangu to sneak in and score at the back post.
He grinned and said, “Great cross, great cross.” “It’s good that Elton had a great situation. I was able to turn. I just tried to cross goal toward the back post because I wasn’t sure where I was, and happily, Elton slowed down and checked. It was nice to take the lead.
In the second half, he scored the game-winning goal by sliding a crisp through pass to Kabangu. Shankland was content to play a somewhat different position at the top of a diamond-shaped midfield, providing. “This is probably the first time I’ve been committed to a midfield role, but I’ve played a little bit of it in the early seasons I’ve been here,” he said. “I used to play right off the striker; it’s obviously similar, but defensively it’s different. It has been beneficial for me to have to learn a few things. Learning a new role is always beneficial, and I’m doing my job if I continue to generate assists.
As a No. 10 player, I might not be the kind of player that other players are. I am slightly different. Naturally, seeing games like that gives you a sense of what a No. 10 needs to do; part of the job is to go into the position, get on the half-turn, and give the strikers chances. Fortunately, I was able to accomplish it on Sunday, and as a result, we won.
With six games left until the split, Hearts are now one point outside the top six in the Premiership. Their goal is to place in the top half before aiming for a spot in Europe. “Looking at the table, I think it’s really tight,” Shankland remarked. We advanced a few spots on Sunday with just one victory. That demonstrates the league’s tightness. It’s impossible to forecast results every week.
“We simply need to keep improving our performances, which have been getting better, and the outcomes have been getting better as a result.” We will continue to move in the right path if we can continue to win. It’s a close race from fourth to last in the league.
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