Robbie Neilson has challenged Lawrence Shankland to fire himself into the Scotland squad by making his mark in back-to-back blockbusters against Celtic this week.The 21-goal hitman netted a hat-trick last time out against the Hoops yet still finished on the losing side as Hearts were dumped in a seven-goal thriller at Tynecastle in October.
But driven by the memory of that goal fest Shankland is out to add to his impressive tally when Hearts travel to Parkhead on Premiership duty tomorrow night.
Hot on the heels of that comes Saturday’s eagerly awaited Scottish Cup quarter final clash between the sides back in Edinburgh.
And Neilson reckons the double header is the ideal stage for his skipper to showcase the talent with Steve Clarke putting the final touches to his squad which is set to be announced next Tuesday.Shankland hasn’t featured for his country since November 2020 despite helping the nation end a 23-year wait for a major tournament appearance by reaching the last European Championships.
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