McInnes knowing what Hearts need was music to my ears and it should be to Shankland too

Daily Record

a day ago

Lawrence Shakland has much to consider when it comes to his future.
At least there's one thing he can be sure of. If he signs on again at Tynecastle, he's going to get a team and manager who will give him every chance to recapture his best.
Derek McInnes won't have needed to tell Shankland what to expect from the Hearts team next season if he's part of it.
The striker will have seen it for himself.
The new boss gets it. He knows what Hearts requires and it was music to my ears hearing him identify pace in the wide areas. It should have been music to Lawrence's lugs too.
Just look at the way McInnes has set up teams in the past. It's tailor-made for a Shankland.
Look at the way he used Adam Rooney during the first part of his spell at Aberdeen and the way he created a set-up to utilise him to the maximum.
I played against that team and it was murder when the likes of Jonny Hayes and Niall McGinn got into full flow. Those boys were a nightmare to face. They held their width and they got service into Rooney.
If McInnes thought Hayes and McGinn had the beating of their full-back, they would just keep pummelling them down the flanks.
But, if he thought they weren't able to get away, he had no hesitation switching their sides and then they'd come inside and make mayhem, create and score their own goals.
The other thing about them is they worked their backsides off and weren't scared to stick a foot in if it was needed as well.
McInnes' Aberdeen team evolved, yet the principles stayed the same. Fast and aggressive in the wide areas and, when Rooney left, not many would have given Sam Cosgrove much hope of filling the void, yet he did it brilliantly in the end.
That was down to service. The likes of Gary Mackay-Steven and Scott Wright were wide guys who kept that ethos and Kilmarnock was the same.
Marley Watkins and Kyle Vassell both had brilliant seasons when they qualified for Europe and got fourth place in the Premiership. And much of that was down to the incredible service provided by Matty Kennedy and Danny Armstrong.
Two boys who held their width. McInnes' plan was to get the ball to those two boys as swiftly as possible and let them deliver service. Kennedy was with him at Aberdeen as well, Mackay-Steven ended up going to Rugby Park.
Listen, I get accused all the time of being old-school, of talking about playing direct football but I keep saying it.
It's not just booting the ball up the park, it's getting it to your attacking players quickly and letting them do damage with pace and quality.
Football has disappeared up it's own a**e. I hear folk rattling on about breaking lines and all of this jargon.
Players have been breaking lines since the game was invented. It's called running off the ball or committing a player by taking him on. Some coaches these days could sell cars if they didn't have jobs in the game.
I'm not suggesting McInnes isn't up to speed with modern tactics because he is but he's also clearly aware there are basic traits you need.
Hearts are about being fast and aggressive. Being in people's faces, running that extra yard and making that extra tackle to then let your ability speak.
That's the ethos and the DNA of the club. Hard work and quality. McInnes knows this.
Various areas of the pitch are going to need work and alteration but those wide positions are absolutely key.
It has been sadly lacking at Hearts in recent times and Lawrence should have been the first one to complain about it.
This is a guy who guarantees you goals when you deliver into the box for him, yet it felt like teams were being set up almost to deny him that.
Dropping him deep and asking him to link the game. That's great – but why take away your key weapon?
McInnes wants boys to hug touchlines and make the chances and this is where the Jamestown Analytics can help the gaffer identify some options.
Lawrence had a 12 months to forget but I have no doubt that if he stays at Hearts, he will start scoring goals again within a McInnes team.
He's going to have options, as I said. But there's a World Cup coming next summer and Scotland might be in it.
It might be worth considering where you are going to get the best out of yourself for the next few months.
He knows McInnes rates him. He was the one who signed him for Aberdeen and he had to watch from the bench as the likes of Rooney ran riot.
The evidence is there for Lawrence that he has now got a boss who is finally going to play to his strengths again.
McInnes and Shankland together can be the figureheads for Hearts really pushing on now.