Lawrence Shankland talks on Hearts, big physical St Mirren and hitting penalties at mannequins before Celtic

By Gbam Godwin On Oct 29, 2025

Lawrence Shankland talks on Hearts, big physical St Mirren and hitting penalties at mannequins before Celtic.

Scotland striker wants to stay ahead in the SPFL Premiership. Timing is an important aspect of any striker’s game.

Lawrence Shankland, Hearts’ captain, normally coordinates successfully, as evidenced by vital contributions in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Celtic.

It was his 150th appearance for the Edinburgh club, and he commemorated the occasion with a goal, an assist, and an exhaustive overall effort. Shankland is now in his fourth season at Tynecastle Park, and the first two were goal-laden.

He scored 28 and 31 with some famous net-bulging, but only managed nine strikes last season.

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He already has eight this year, which coincides with the points lead Hearts have at the top of the William Hill Premiership after defeating the champions. After a protracted contract battle during the summer, Shankland’s situation is improving.

“It feels positive,” he stated of his 150th game. “There were a lot of good wins, moments, and goals. It never loses its pride. It’s probably the longest I’ve ever been at a club, and reaching that small milestone is a satisfying sensation.

It’s always fantastic to win and score a goal; it helps and is a good feeling.

I believe it is another three points towards the goal we set for ourselves at the beginning of the season. We want to get as many wins as possible on the board as soon as possible, and we know how to do so, so this is an excellent place to begin.

“We want to win every game right now. We intend to collect as many points as possible during the first third of the season. Wednesday is an opportunity to go to St Mirren and score another three, which would be a fantastic return for that start.

The goal remains constant; nothing changes. We aim to get as many points on the board as we can. We’re currently in a strong situation and doing well. It’s so early in the season that every game you play is critical, and you have to go out and try to win.

Obviously, the boys deserve to enjoy Sunday, it was a good result and a good day. We recover and we go again.”

The time it took to agree on a new deal was longer than planned during pre-season. Shankland did not intend to sign up for a full-fledged run at the Premiership title.

Neither he nor his teammates would publicly accept this, but the league table does not lie. The Scotland striker admitted that the reason he stayed with Hearts was not because he saw this coming.

“Not really, no.” “I made the decision based on what I wanted and what was best for me and my family,” he said. “Obviously, I knew about the football club and what it was like to work and play here.

I assumed it couldn’t have gotten much worse than last year [placing eighth]. It was a challenging season, so I had an idea.

I’d already worked with the manager [Derek McInnes] when I was younger [at Aberdeen], and this was another opportunity to work with him again while being in a completely different situation as a player and career.

“That was good. There are other elements to consider, but I doubt anyone could have predicted such a strong start. It is always difficult to win as many games as we have. It’s a good time right now, and you should enjoy it, but you must continue to produce results.”

The next challenge in that regard is St Mirren in Paisley. They are the only team this season to have defeated Hearts on penalties after winning the Premier Sports Cup in August. “It’s a difficult place to go,” Shankland explained.

“St Mirren are a strong team, particularly at home. They are definitely quite successful there. I believe they win the majority of their games at home each season. “They have good players. They are also a large, physical team.

They have good height and pose a threat. Teams generally refer to them as a long ball team and claim that they don’t play much football, yet they have some good players. It’s a different and demanding task.

We need to get in there and use the confidence we’ve gained from all of these victories to attempt to add another one to the board.”

The longer Hearts remain at the top of the table, the more of a target they become. Shankland is aware that he and his teammates are becoming targets for opponents.

“I’d rather that was the problem than looking behind you and thinking, ‘We need to get away from the bottom here.’ That’s how it was for a long time last year, so I’m loving it,” the skipper said with a smile.