Lawrence Shankland has taken his game to another level at Heart of Midlothian, reckons Steve Clarke.
The Scotland head coach has suggested that the striker has a selfishness to his own game prior to arriving at Tynecastle three years ago.
However, now a more experienced player, and captain fo Steven Naismith's team, Clarke can see the marked improvement in the 28-year-old all-round game.
Former Kilmarnock manager Clarke is a big fan of Shankland, insisting 'he can play'.
'Can Shankland play the way you need your strikers to play?' 🤔
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) April 27, 2024
Steve Clarke gives his thoughts on his striking options as we approach Euro 2024 ⤵️#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/stswDBgZxF
He did point out that Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams have both contributed massively to the Scotland A team under his watch though, and feels their part to play has been somewhat overlooked in recent times.
He told BBC Scotland: "Lawrence can play, he's a good player. I think he's improved his game as he's got older and more experienced. It used to be that maybe he saved a little bit for himself and just played inside the box and scored goals but now, with Hearts, it's a demanding crowd at Tynecastle.
"So when you play for Hearts you have to put yourself about, you have to show up in the games, and Lawrence is doing that. His hold-up play has improved, his work rate has improved and he's still scoring goals. So he's doing all right.
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"I think people are maybe a bit too short-sighted to look too far beyond the work that Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams have done for us. Both of them over my time as head coach have been really good strikers for my team.
"Maybe not scoring goal after goal after goal because they're not that type of striker. So you have to understand what both Lyndon and Che can bring to the group.
"They bring their own qualities which allows other players to flourish and get the goals and get the headlines. But don't underestimate the work that Lyndon and Che have done for Scotland over the last four years."
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