Lawrence Shankland knows Hearts produced a performance against Rangers that would drive their fans to drink so he had no problem with them hitting the boos at half time on Wednesday.
The Tynecastle faithful let their team know their feelings about a first half display that saw them go in 2-0 down when it could have been four or five as Rangers ran riot en route to an eventual 3-0 victory. And despite Hearts having been on a 10-game unbeaten run before Michael Beale’s side came to town, their captain Shankland had no issue with their supporters refusing to cut them any slack for an off night.
The striker said: “It’s a tough one. We had been on a good run and went into the match confident. Overall our play was nowhere near good enough to get anything out of the game. A lot of Rangers attacks came from us being slack and giving them opportunities. To be fair, they were good as well. It wasn’t to be. It wasn’t our night. Listen, the fans are entitled. Football is a fickle game, everybody knows that. We’ve been in it long enough to know that, but these supporters come here week in and week out and pay their money wanting to be entertained. I’ve no gripes with that at all.
“Yes, we’ve been on a good run and some people might see it as harsh if we’re getting the boos, but as players we understand that when it’s not going well that’s part of the job. We accept that and we are big enough boys to see that’s what happens at a big club.
“They’ve seen enough in the team watching us every week to know that we can compete. We know that ourselves and it’s a disappointing night but that’s all it is and all it needs to be.”
While Hearts are trying to close the gap on the Old Firm, a league table showing them 19 points adrift of second-placed Rangers tells its own story.
Shankland accepts that but is adamant the Jambos won’t stop trying to become more competitive against the big two.
He added: “We need to look to get close. It’s hard to say that’s the feeling when the table looks like that. You need to be honest with yourself as well. We know that as players we need to improve. We were going in confident on a good run, 10 unbeaten. We can’t forget that either.
“It was such a poor performance against Rangers, but overall it’s still been good since we came back from the World Cup. The bigger picture is still bright, but we just need an improvement on that showing. There was just an overall slackness in our play.
“I felt that we got ourselves into trouble a few times just by being poor in possession and giving the ball away. When you do that against a team like Rangers they are going to punish you. They have good enough players. That’s what they did.
“If we want to be up there with them then these are the games that we need to go and try to win, especially at home. So it was disappointing, but I don’t think we gave ourselves a chance to win the game.
“The belief is still there. Going into the game I said we were looking forward to it and confident. It very quickly turned when we clearly weren’t playing at our best. And I think if you are going to have any chance against the Old Firm then you need to be at your best. If you’re not then nine times out of 10 you see what happens.”
Hearts boss Robbie Neilson went with a very attacking line-up against the Light Blues, including Australian World Cup teenager Garang Kuol making his first start on the right side of midfield.
And although the Egyptian-born youngster endured a tough night against Gers, Shankland has no doubt the Jambos have signed a real talent in the on-loan Newcastle United kid.
He added: “It was a tough night for a kid coming to a new league. The football is different and there will be a lot of learning. He is a young kid as well and people need to give him time. I think he is only 18 and it’s hard when young players get this ‘wonderkid’ name because it travels with them.
“It can hamper them because the expectation grows so high. The expectation is that he is an 18-year-old kid coming on loan to try and get experience. He is playing at a big club and there will be learning curves for him, but I’m sure he will do well. People just need to let him play, he is a kid.
“It’s a massive difference between playing Under-23s football down the road and playing first team football for Hearts against Rangers.
“If you look at his career I don’t think he has played that much first team football. But he looks good in training, he has talent. He has not got the wonderkid tag for no reason. The talent just needs to be nurtured to make him a first team player – and I’m sure it will be. It’s experience. Everybody needs to get it and along the way you make mistakes. I made plenty myself at that age and older – that’s why I’m 27 with grey hair!”
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