Goal rush sees Steve Clarke join Lawrence Shankland fan club as the Hearts forward stuns in Scotland

Steve Clarke will never need anyone to make him aware of public sentiment before he names any squad. Lawrence Shankland can attest to the fact that the Scotland manager will always be completely unmoved by it.

When Clarke was finalising the group of players to face Spain and France in October, the consensus was that the Hearts forward’s seven-game goal drought at that point should not be held against him. The manager, however, clearly thought otherwise.

In November, despite normal service being resumed at club level for the striker, Clarke again looked beyond him when the party to face Georgia and Norway was revealed.

It was only after Che Adams withdrew through injury that Shankland belatedly got the call — his goal in the 2-2 draw in Tbilisi typifying his resolve.

Whatever minor doubts Clarke clearly still had about the player around that point have surely been washed away by subsequent events.

Steve Clarke selected a squad ahead of Scotland’s Euro 2024 preparation friendlies 

Shankland’s inclusion in recent squads is justified by his goal-scoring form for Hearts

Since mid-December, the 28-year-old has scored 16 goals in 16 games for Hearts. With 28 goals for club and country this term, he’s already matched his sum total for last year.

An inclusion in the 25-man squad for the friendlies against the Netherlands and Northern Ireland would have seemed inevitable even if Luton’s Jacob Brown had not been injured.

But there’s something beyond the recent blizzard of goals that’s evidently persuaded the Scotland manager that Shankland is now officer material.

‘Just experience, more experience,’ said Clarke when asked what the difference now was with the Tynecastle star. ‘More responsibility — he’s captain of the club. Playing in a Hearts team that is competitive at the top end of the table. All those little factors come together.

‘He’s a goalscorer. A goalscorer playing in a good Hearts team that’s creating chances and Lawrence is scoring the goals. He’s done well.’

Seven caps seem a meagre reward for a player who was clearly a natural-born goalscorer when he took his first steps in the game with Queen’s Park.

For all the head scratching over why Shankland hasn’t racked up more appearances under Clarke in recent years, though, it’s worth noting he didn’t even get a sniff at senior level under Gordon Strachan or Alex McLeish.

Shankland never played for the senior squad under Gordon Strachan or Alex McLeish 

Boss Clarke compares Shankland’s situation to late developers like Colin Calderwood and Andy Considine

It was only when the current manager brought him to Russia for an ill-fated defeat in 2019 that he was given the opportunity to show what he could do.

‘I remember it was a bad night,’ Clarke recalled of a 4-0 loss. ‘I thought Lawrence was really good when he came into the game.

‘I put him on and his hold-up play was good, his back to goal play was good. Although we lost four goals in the second half, I thought he improved the team.

‘It was maybe other people on the night let Lawrence down a little bit, rather than Lawrence letting himself down. From then, you get a feel for the player.

‘He’s always been there or thereabouts around the squad. This season his goal record is incredible and he deserves his place in the squad.’

Now that Shankland is in there on merit, it’s his spot to lose. And if he can continue to demonstrate his suitability across what will be a historic few months for the national team, Clarke sees no reason why that modest number of appearances in Dark Blue cannot steadily rise.

‘I think back to someone like Colin Calderwood who was a really late developer,’ said the manager. ‘He didn’t come into Scotland squads until, I’d say, early 30s and ended up with a number of caps.

‘There’s always the possibility of someone to come through late. The best thing is don’t retire from international football. Just keep playing your club football and you never know.

‘Andy Considine turned up towards the end of his career and did really well for us, so there’s always a chance.’

Shankland played in the qualifying match against Georgia in Tbilisi 

Shankland’s limited caps contrast with his prolific goal-scoring record for Hearts 

There will be an edge to these friendly matches that just isn’t there ordinarily. The spectre of the Euro 2024 opener against Germany on June 14 sees to that.

Facing the Dutch in Amsterdam is one of the toughest assignments Clarke could have signed up for. To all intents and purposes, it feels like a dress rehearsal for the tournament opener in Munich.

‘You can call it that if you want,’ added Clarke.

‘It’s one of the top European sides. It’s a good challenge, same as France and England was a challenge. Those friendlies were tough, playing against Spain in the qualifiers was similar.

‘We go to Germany for the opening game against the host nation, it will be a tough night. The more we play against good opposition, the more ready we’ll be for that challenge. So, it will be a good competitive match for us and don’t underestimate the game against Northern Ireland over there because that will be tough as well.’

With all due respect to Michael O’Neill’s side, they do not offer a test for Clarke’s attackers quite like Virgil van Dijk. In fairness, few nations do.

So it’s an opportunity for any of those who will hope to lead the line this summer to stake their claim.

There will be an edge to these friendly matches that just isn’t there ordinarily. The spectre of the Euro 2024 opener against Germany on June 14 sees to that.

Since mid-December, the 28-year-old has scored 16 goals in 16 games for Hearts. With 28 goals for club and country this term, he’s already matched his sum total for last year

‘He’s a good player,’ Clarke said of the Liverpool man. ‘But it’s a great challenge for the strikers selected to go against Van Dijk and try to cause him problems.

‘Lawrence has done well. Don’t forget the other two strikers have been decent for me as well, Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams.

‘It’s nice to have Che back. Dykes is not quite getting into the QPR team at the moment. But I’ve spoken to him and he’s fine.

‘You have Jacob Brown to add to the mix. He is injured and out probably until the middle to end of April but he is another one I’ve got in my head.

‘I’m always looking for more in the forward positions but at the moment it’s three and they will get the chance over the next couple of games to impress.’