Lawrence Shankland's Impact on Rangers' Season
Lawrence Shankland is “too good not to score regularly” and will shape Rangers’ season whether he starts or not. Derek McInnes is certain of it.
The Rangers manager watched his side finally ignite their campaign with a 5-1 dismantling of St Mirren in the League Cup, their first win of the season, and did it with his captain on the bench. Shankland, 31, came on as a substitute and has just one goal in five appearances since his move to Ibrox, a modest return for a striker who rattled in 22 for Hearts last season under the same manager.
McInnes, though, refuses to flinch.
“When you have a player like Lawrence, who knows his way around the penalty box and how to score goals, I do not worry too much about it,” he said. “Sometimes people can over emphasise these things. For me, it is a case of letting him play his natural game.
“The best strikers have that instinctive side to their game, where everything looks natural and seamless. I have no doubt he will do well here.”
On Sunday, McInnes turned to Ryan Naderi from the start against St Mirren. The German repaid that call by opening the scoring, while Nico Raskin took the armband in Shankland’s place.
That decision had been flagged to his captain early.
“I said that when I spoke to Lawrence,” McInnes explained. “Being captain does not guarantee anything, and he accepted that. He is not going to stamp his feet about it.”
“Having worked with Lawrence before, he is a brilliant captain and a brilliant boy. You want your captain to have a big influence on and off the pitch, and I believe Lawrence will have that.”
If Shankland’s form is the obvious talking point in the stands, Raskin’s future hangs over the club in a different way. The Belgium midfielder has been heavily linked with a move away, his name a regular feature in the rumour mill, yet McInnes insisted his professionalism has not wavered.
“Every player's got a price,” the manager said of the 25-year-old. “Every player has got a time where it maybe suits them to move on, suits the club or whatever.
“But I think it's important for me to say that Nico's been a dream since we came in, in terms of how he's set about his work, and he doesn't look like a boy who's distracted in any way with that.
“I've no doubt there's a lot of stuff going on in the background with him. I just need to play it by ear really to be honest. I'm enjoying working with him.”
The domestic boost now gives way to European jeopardy. On Thursday, Rangers host Jablonec in the first leg of a Conference League play-off tie, a meeting McInnes refuses to dress up with easy labels.
He will not call his side favourites. Not with the Czech visitors arriving in Glasgow on a six-game winning run and a reputation for tactical flexibility.
“It's difficult to really assess who are the favourites,” he admitted. “It's just a game that we put the emphasis on ourselves to go and win.
“They're clearly a well-organised team. They've got a few good individuals who can make the game a bit more problematic for you, but we feel as though we've got a good handle on what they are.
“They can change from shape to shape a lot even within the same personnel so we've got to be ready for that.”
So the message is clear: control what you can control. That means Rangers finding their level, as their manager puts it, and leaning on the players he trusts most – Shankland’s goals, Raskin’s drive, Naderi’s sharpness – to drag them there.
“I'm just really trying to concentrate on us finding our level and us getting big performances,” McInnes said. “If we can do that then, although I'm expecting a tough game, I expect it to be tougher for them.”
