If there was one comment that Lawrence Shankland made during his media performance recently that made Ibrox Noise slightly amused, especially over the implications, it was his comments about the end of last season. Obviously, Shankland took part in Hearts’ colossal challenge to win the title and really should have pulled it over the line. They just fell short at the very worst time, running out of puff at the worst possible moment.
Putting the disappointment behind him
It was a shame, as of course was losing key players at the tail end of their campaign. That definitely helped to hinder them in getting further away from the rest of the pack. Alas, that did not happen. Celtic clawed back the gap by continuing to win when Hearts were starting to stutter. Not having Shankland or Devlin fit did not help. On the final day, with all to play for, the absence of Craig Halkett and Devlin having his one bad match definitely counted against them.
Focused only on Rangers
When asked about how he felt about this, Shankland’s answer showed just how focused he actually is on Rangers. He basically confirmed he was already over it. We are pretty convinced he probably is. He will have been gutted at the time to have lost out on the title. But the fact is that he got his dream from that.
Shankland always wanted to play for Rangers. Going straight to Ibrox then the World Cup after Hearts pretty much confirmed the way he got over the whole thing rather easily. We do not for a second think he is paying lip service to this.
Living in the present
It is well known, for example, in tennis. The great Roger Federer once said the only point that ever matters is the current one. You have to bin every single point that came before and focus only on the present, not even on the future. It is all about now.
That is where Shankland is. As soon as Hearts lost that title and he got his big move then was selected to go to Scotland’s international camp, that was it. It was binned for him. He was off to the World Cup and got his Rangers switch. That was his conclusion to the season. He put it behind him and moved on.
He said himself in the interview that, for him, it felt like a lifetime ago already. So much had happened since then that, even although it was a huge disappointment at the time, he just had to move on. That is exactly what he has done.
A dream fulfilled
This is not to degrade Hearts fans. We know there has been a lot of mockery about Rangers taking almost the entire club they have. But this is not really to insult them. We at Ibrox Noise have no issue with Hearts and wanted them to win the league. We were gutted when they did not because they deserved to.
This is not meant to be degrading towards Hearts. It is just that their former player got his dream. He had such a sensational summer for his level and came to the club of his boyhood dreams. Consequently, it is quite easy to put the past disappointment behind you and just move on.
It is not that he is binning his Hearts time, far from it. But the disappointment of not getting that league has to go in the bin now. He is a Rangers player. He is Lawrence Shankland. All that matters is blue.