Image source, SNSImage caption, Shankland has scored once for Rangers and did not start Sunday's win over St Mirren
- Published5 minutes ago
Lawrence Shankland is "too good not to score regularly" and is sure to have a "big influence" at Rangers whether or not he starts games, insists manager Derek McInnes.
Shankland has scored once in five outings since his move to Ibrox and the captain was used as a substitute on Sunday as Rangers beat St Mirren 5-1 for their first win of the season.
The 31-year-old Scotland striker hit 22 goals for Hearts last term working under McInnes.
"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," said McInnes.
"He is too good not to score regularly. He has consistently shown that over a period of time in the Premiership.
"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."
McInnes chose to start with Ryan Naderi in the Premier Sports Cup victory over St Mirren and the German opened the scoring, while Nico Raskin was skipper.
"I said that when I spoke to Lawrence," added McInnes. "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."
Shankland is one of 11 new signings at Rangers and the search is on for another centre forward since Youssef Chermiti is a long-term absentee.
"The priority is at the top end of the pitch," said McInnes. "Number nines are normally more difficult ones to do, and it wasn't an area we were looking at before Youseff's injury.
"We're hoping we can land on the one that we want and hopefully we can bring them here quickly."
Raskin 'a dream' to work with
Raskin has been heavily linked with a move away, but McInnes was full of praise for the Belgium midfielder's attitude.
"Every player's got a price," he 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."
Rangers 'have good handle' on Jablonec
Rangers host Jablonec in the first leg of a Conference League play-off tie on Thursday, with McInnes saying "it's difficult to really assess who are the favourites".
The Czech side arrive on Glasgow on a six-game winning run.
"For me, it's just a game that we put the emphasis on ourselves to go and win," added McInnes.
"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.
"I'm just really trying to concentrate on us finding our level and us getting big performances. If we can do that then, although I'm expecting a tough game, I expect it to be tougher for them."
