What Lawrence Shankland said to Hearts players after derby defeat.

Lawrence Shankland was unimpressed with Heart of Midlothian’s performance in the 3-2 defeat at Easter Road to city rivals Hibs. Even a boisterous conclusion couldn’t soothe the ache of a derby defeat. “No, I despise that.

Turning up while you’re 3-0 down is pointless.That is what I said to the boys in the changing room. It actually brought us to 3-1. When it was 3-1 and we scored, that’s when I realised we had a little bit of belief and play,” Shankland explained.

“Up until then, we were quite wasteful with our possessions. On the other side of the game, the fundamentals, Hibs were outperforming us up to that moment. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that we finished the game strong, but I don’t like claiming credit because it’s too late.

Hearts trailed 1-0 after three minutes. Then 2-0 down at halftime.Both goals were the type the team intended to avoid and had been discussed in the lead-up to the game.

 

Stop crosses from wide, particularly on the left, and be mindful of midfield runs into the area. “I don’t think we were ourselves. We conceded fairly early in the game. “We discuss the threat they have for crosses,” Shankland said.

“We conceded two goals on opposite sides of the half, both from crosses on the left.We’re frustrated because we talked about it and were aware of the situation. We didn’t perform well enough to block the crosses, and we conceded two weak goals, which was frustrating.

The third one is also terrible. You want to get the second half off to a good start, so you give them the goal. In a derby, teams do not require goals or confidence. “When we arrived here, we were flying high.

Obviously, providing them goals boosts their morale and helps them feel like they’re a part of the game. We were also so cheap in possession that we kept kicking the ball out of play even when there was no pressure.

You can always give credit to the opponent when they defeat you, but it’s difficult not to be irritated with ourselves since we weren’t ourselves.”

Shankland’s speech in the media was identical to the one in the locker room. They cannot anticipate a positive outcome if they do not attend the majority of a match.

That was something Derek McInnes stated after the game, which infuriated the Hearts fans.Something that the Hearts supporters consider unacceptable.

Not showing up for a derby and performing the fundamentals that result in derby victories. We aren’t a good enough team to play 30 minutes. We are not good enough.

We haven’t proven ourselves worthy. We can’t just turn up when we’re down 3-0. That is not going to happen. “You’re not going to win games like that,” he replied calmly.

“We’ve gotten where we are today because we’ve been there for 90 minutes every game, creating results.

Except for a few occasions when you aren’t quite there. However, for the most part, we were there to play games. We did a good job with the essentials.

We know our fundamentals are the basics, and we’ll build from there because we have some quality in the front sections. “If you’re going to concede goals as easy as we have, then you’re going to make it hard for yourself.”

When asked if such games require more individual responsibility, Shankland shifted the focus to the group.

They succeed and fail as a team. Saturday’s setback affected the entire team. “It could be. But as a team, we must move as a shape. The entire team must be present. “It’s not picking out individuals,” he explained.