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Hearts goal drought for Lawrence Shankland reminds pal of Hazard as skipper backed to grab big Rangers moment
He's going through what might be the worst goal drought of his career so far.
But if Hearts get one chance to score at Ibrox against Rangers today? There’s only one man Beni Baningime would want it to fall to. You have to feel for Lawrence Shankland right now. The Jambos’ captain and talisman is firing blanks at Tynecastle, having bagged just ONE goal in 17 games this term. Against German side Heidenheim in the Conference League on Thursday night, Shankland’s general play was excellent.
But a crisis in confidence saw him snatch at a few big opportunities that he’d normally stick away. Baningime is fully behind his team-mate, who racked up an incredible tally of 33 last term. The midfielder has absolutely no doubts that Shankland will start scoring again - potentially against Gers tonight.
He cited the example of former Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard, who notched 22 goals in his last campaign at Stamford Bridge - before moving to Real Madrid where he only managed a solitary strike in 2019/20. Baningime knows it can happen to the best. But he’s adamant Shankland will find his shooting boots again - and wouldn’t bet against him at Ibrox.
He said: “I’m 100% confident in Lawrence. You don’t score as many goals as he’s done for the last two seasons. The best players go through it. I remember one season when Hazard was absolutely world class at Chelsea. Then you looked at him the following year and thought, OK. So, it happens.
“If you’re an opposition team and you’re looking to stop someone, it’s going to be Lawrence because he scores so many goals and is a great player. So for me, I’m confident he’ll turn it around. He’s a top character and his ability speaks for itself. He knows how to score goals. Of course, he’s frustrated because of the standards he’s set.
“If you have expectations of yourself, and there’s expectations from the fans and the media, you’re going to be frustrated. But I back him all the way and we’re there for him. It’s up to other guys to chip in with goals as well. He shouldn’t carry that burden alone and it can’t solely be on him.
“But when you score as many as he has for Hearts, he’s always going to be disappointed when it’s not happening. He’s set high standards and he wants to meet those.
“But if we get a chance against Rangers on Sunday there’s only one guy I’d want to get it and that’s Lawrence, 100%. If I had to choose one player, it would be him. I’d certainly rather it falls to him than me, But if it lands for anyone at Ibrox, hopefully they can put it away.”
Hearts lost their perfect record in the Conference League against Heidenheim but didn’t disgrace themselves against the Bundesliga side. In a dominant first half, they got after the Germans and should have been at least a goal in front.
They were made to pay for their profligacy but Baningime was encouraged by their attacking approach and expects the same ploy at Ibrox from new gaffer Neil Critchley. He said: “We put Heidenheim under a lot of pressure and created chances.
“Unfortunately we didn’t put them away and they scored from nowhere. It was tough to take but they’re a top team who aren’t in the Bundesliga for no reason.
“We need to take encouragement from that to Ibrox. We’re facing another top team on Sunday so there’s no point feeling sorry for ourselves.
“We have to do the same again. It’s a hard place to go but we have to dust ourselves off and put in a similar performance to that first half on Thursday. I think the manager will take a similar approach against Rangers. We’ll be on the front foot.
“From his first day, he’s wanted us to press and be compact. We’re playing better and we’re getting better results from that.
“We need to turn things around in the league and get up the table. It hasn’t been good enough so far and we know that.”
Critchley’s men are propping up the Premiership but performances have improved. Unfortunately, they’ve now got a mammoth month of fixtures with Rangers, Celtic, Cercle Brugge in Europe, and Aberdeen coming next.
Baningime said: “That’s what being a Hearts player is all about, it’s why we’re here. We were ahead of the rest last season so we’re a good team.
“The start we’ve had hasn’t been good enough but we’re starting to find our feet now. It’s a massive part of the season coming up now, a huge period for us. But we’re ready for the challenge and we’ve got a great squad here. Hopefully we’ll get the results we want from it.”
