The striker has enjoying a flying season and is taking that from into the World Cup
is on Cloud 9 right now. Which is good news for the Tartan Army on the eve of the tournament in America. Why? Because he was still thinking about a chance he missed in the second half against the South Americans which would have earned him another brace in a 4-0 win.
You might think Shankland is nitpicking. But it’s a sign of where the red-hot striker is with his game at the moment. Despite the disappointment of missing out on the league title with Hearts, he enjoyed a terrific campaign for Derek McInnes’ side. Everything is going right for Shankland.
But he was still annoyed with himself for passing up an opportunity in front of goal at the weekend that he'd normally bury. When Kieran Tierney fizzed a low cross into the box, he'd have expected himself to tuck it away with the outside of his right-foot. Instead, Shankland met it flush at the near post but could only steer his shot wide.
Even gaffer Clarke revealed later that his front-man was gutted about the miss in the changing-room at full-time. When asked if he feels like he’ll score every time he steps on the pitch, Shankland said: “As a striker you always want to be in that place. You want to get yourself into scoring positions.
“I should have had two on Saturday. I should have scored a second goal and it was probably an easier chance than the one that did go in.
“But that’s football. That’s the life of a striker. You have to be in there and be prepared to miss. The more you miss, the more you’ll score.
I’ve always believed that and I’ve always been like that.
“Given the quality in our team, and the standard of players, you know the chances are coming because of the service. I should have had two goals with the cross from KT.
“For the first, it was brilliant delivery from Andy Robertson to pick me out. As a striker that’s all you can ask for. ” Shankland has been on a rollercoaster of emotions in the last few weeks. From the depths of despair at Hearts’ last-day title loss at Celtic Park, to being snapped up by his boyhood club.
But he’s also had a World Cup to think about. And slowly but surely, he’s gradually edged himself towards being Clarke’s first-pick up front. Shankland said: “There’s been a lot of ups and downs in the last couple of weeks. It’s been a bit mad.
But as footballers, we deal with disappointments and we move quickly.
“Then you deal with good times because they don’t always last. I’ll always remain level-headed with where I’m at.
“I’m excited for this tournament to start and I’m in a good place. My emotions have been up and down a wee bit.
“But in all honesty, I’ve not had too much time to over-think everything. When you have the buzz of a World Cup to look forward to, as bad as it sounds, you can move quickly.
“The game moves on and you have to move with it. Of course, there was disappointment but after a few days of being quiet in the house I just had to deal with it and park it.
“Then I was just looking forward to meeting up here. Do I feel differently as a Rangers player? No, because I’ve not had too much time to think about it. Right now, I’m just concentrating on being a Scotland player.
” Against Curacao at Hampden last week, Shankland started alongside George Hirst in attack. In the second half, he linked up brilliantly with Lyndon Dykes who had come off the bench. And in New Jersey on Saturday, his partnership with Adams looked like one which could be extremely productive for Scotland at the World Cup. But Shankland doesn’t really mind who he’s paired with in Clarke’s line-up.
He said: “At times, I prefer to play as a two up front. But it just depends who you pair me with. Che and I work well together. He likes to play on the shoulder but he can also drop in.
“But it’s more about the team. We have Doaky on the wing and Ryan Christie who comes in the pitch.
“You can cause defences problems just with your positioning and I like to pick up little spots off the defence. It brings a different dimension and we’re working on it. We’ve had longer in this camp and it’s been really good. ” If Shankland doesn’t start against Haiti on Boston on Saturday night, an entire nation will probably be in a state of shock.
He’s refusing to take his place for granted but he must be at the top of Clarke’s pecking order for the vital World Cup opener. He’s also refusing to take Haiti lightly. Shankland is well aware of what a victory could mean for Scotland and how long it’s been since we were even at the tournament . But rather than be weighed down by that burden, he’s thriving on it.
When it was put to him that it was 30 years since Scotland won a World Cup game, he said: “Aye, cheers for reminding me! Listen, we know how long it’s been since Scotland have been at the World Cup.
“But we go into this first game feeling confident. Our preparation has been good up until now and we’ve got another week to continue that.
“I was only three at the last World Cup so it’s been a long time! But the excitement amongst the boys is brilliant.
“Haiti will be a step up . But we’ve not over-analysed them. We’ve had two games to think about in our own preparation, with a lot of fitness work to do as well in terms of getting used to the conditions.
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