‘Shankland in top bracket of Hearts legends’ – Naismith.

 

Lawrence Shankland has reached legendary status at Heart of Midlothian, according to his former head coach, Steven Naismith.

The 29-year-old Scotland striker signed a new three-year contract with Tynecastle earlier this week, bringing an end to months of doubt over his future.

Shankland was out of contract and had declined previous offers to stay in the Scottish capital.

However, after committing to Hearts, Naismith, a former Hearts player and head coach, believes Shankland is now on par with John Robertson and Craig Levein.

“Him signing this deal puts him right in the top bracket of Hearts legends,” Naismith remarked on BBC Radio Scotland’s Sportsound. “He’s on par with the rest of them, and his performance will only improve as he scores more goals.

“For the club and fans, it’s as big as any signing that’s going to come in.

” While many Hearts fans had accepted a future without Shankland, Naismith claims he was “calm” about the contract situation and believes a lengthy process was unavoidable given the striker’s goal-scoring record.

He has scored over 20 league goals in two of the last three seasons, for a total of 68. “When there’s a player at that age performing at that level, they are going to take their time and see what’s out there,” he told me. “I was quite calm about everything.

Shanks was going to be interested because his levels were so high, but I also knew how much he loves Hearts and how popular he was.”

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