Lawrence Shankland proclaimed Sunday’s Viaplay Cup semi-final against Rangers a “win at all costs” match as he prepared for Hearts’ maiden trip to Hampden.
When he was on loan at Queen’s Park more than a decade ago, the Jambos captain began his professional career playing regularly in the national stadium, and he has also represented Scotland there.
The 28-year-old’s only Hampden experience came when he featured in Dundee United’s 2-0 loss to Hibernian in the 2021 Scottish Cup semi-final – a result that still irritates him.
Shankland is hopeful that his prior experiences at Glasgow’s famed old ground will help him reach his first major final this weekend.
“It will be great to lead the team out at Hampden, I’m really looking forward to that part and hopefully we can get ourselves to a final,” he added.
“I was at Hampden the last time I was there.” I was at Dundee United and we lost in a semi-final, which still irritates me. It’ll be my first time using Hearts, and I’m looking forward to it.
I’ve had the good fortune to play there several times in my career, both with Scotland and at club level, so it’s a venue I’m familiar with. Many of the guys have previous Hampden experience, which we expect to put to good use on the day.”
When asked to summarize what Hearts must do on Sunday, Shankland answered, “Win at all costs.” That concludes our discussion. The task is straightforward. It’s a huge game in the national stadium, and it’s all about winning.”
Hearts meet Rangers a week after nearly defeating them in the Premiership. The Jambos led 1-0 for the whole of the game and appeared to be on course for a rare Ibrox triumph before surrendering.
Obviously, the errors we made near the end served as a reminder of how important it is to focus when facing a club as dangerous as the Rangers.
“It takes full concentration for every minute you’re on the pitch so we can use last week as a reminder and make sure it’s in our heads at all points in the match.”
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