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'RENCE AND REPEAT
Lawrence Shankland lifts the lid on ambitions for Euro 2024 and beyond, plus THAT miss in Amsterdam
He's had tough times before but he's got BIG ambitions for the future
LAWRENCE SHANKLAND insists he isn’t having nightmares about his big miss in Amsterdam OR making Steve Clarke’s Euros squad.
When the striker was struggling at Morton a few years back, it was a dream for him just to get this far.
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That’s why Hearts skipper Shanks didn’t get too excited when boss Clarke gave him the nod for last month’s friendlies with the Netherlands and Northern Ireland.
And it’s why he refuses to be too hard on himself for the opportunity that he missed as the goal opened up at the Johan Cruyff ArenA.
The prolific forward has passed up enough chances in his career to get too upset about one narrowly missing the target.
Shankland, 28, has been having a magnificent scoring season for the Jambos and said: “It was a good opportunity for me to score in Amsterdam.
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“But it’s not the first chance I have missed and it won’t be the last.
“That’s the life of a striker. I did everything right, it was just a wee bit higher than I wanted the shot to go.
“But I wouldn’t change what I did. I would still go for the same finish.
“It was disappointing it didn’t go in, but it’s one of those things.
“I am sure I will miss more, but I will definitely keep putting myself in a position to miss them.
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“You can’t overthink it. That’s the worst thing you can do.
“It was a great chance, I’m not going to deny that, but it didn’t go in. That’s life. You move on.”
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Shankland’s sense of perspective is helped by the fact he knows just how far he has come to reach this stage.
Back in 2017, the former Aberdeen striker admits he was miserable during an ill-fated loan spell from St Mirren to rivals Morton.
But he refused to throw in the towel, eventually earning moves to Ayr United, Dundee United and Belgians Beerschot before settling at Tynecastle.
This season, Shanks has scored 28 goals for club and country to put himself firmly in Clarke’s thoughts for this summer’s finals in Germany.
Having held his own against the likes of Virgil van Dijk, he knows he just needs to keep doing what he has been to get there.
Shankland added: “It’s good when you look back, although I’ll reflect on it more at the end of my career than I do now.
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“But you take notice of the hard work you have done to put yourself in the position I have. When I look back to Morton, that was probably the lowest point of my career.
“I wasn’t enjoying my football at all, I wasn’t playing well and it was a difficult time for me.
“But the best thing is how much I learned from then and how I kicked on from that.
“Back in those days, if you’d told me I’d hit the bar in Amsterdam playing for Scotland I’d have taken that all day!
“I don’t look too much into it. You probably wish for the rest of your career that the goal goes in, but that’s the same with every shot I take. I’ll move on.
“It was good to get involved and get a bit more game time this time than I have in previous camps.
“It was obviously a big test for me, the highest level I have played at in terms of the calibre of defender.
“It was good to go in there and test myself. And overall I thought my performance was decent.
“You know when you’ve played well and when you’ve not.
“I came off the pitch thinking if that goal went in it would probably have been the perfect night for me in terms of performance. So there were plenty of positives for me to take from it.
“That’s why I was playing, to see if I could do the job I needed to do for the team.
“I hadn’t really had that opportunity before, and it was a chance for me to show I can do it.
“I thought I did my shift really well. There were positives.
“What I’ve done all season has got me in the squad and got me game time. So I don’t see the need to change it. I will just look to keep doing well for Hearts, and if I do that I give myself a good chance of being involved.
“All the manager said after was go and do well at your clubs, and give him a decision to make when it comes to the squad.
“That’s always been his approach and that’s the approach of the players as well.
“In terms of speaking to us he doesn’t really need to, he’s the national team manager and that’s it.”
Shankland stepped back from taking penalties for Hearts earlier this season after missing successive spot-kicks against Livingston, Hibs and Dundee.
But he insists he would have no problems stepping up if Clarke asked him to in June.
He said: “I hit one before in the penalty shootout against Israel.
“If the opportunity comes up then I would be confident from the spot. I have a good record. I’d give it a go.”
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LAWRENCE SHANKLAND was celebrating the launch of this year’s McDonald’s Fun Football programme, available to all children aged 5-11 across Scotland. Sign up now for your nearest FREE session here
McDonald’s Fun Football ambassador and Scotland striker Shankland said: “McDonald’s Fun Football is a wonderful programme and having access to free football isn’t something we should take for granted.
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"As a parent, I would encourage everyone to sign up their kids up for a session.
"There is no better place to play football and make new friends.”
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page