Lawrence Shankland says Hearts can relieve pressure by beating Ross County

Lawrence Shankland has challenged embattled Hearts to banish the spectre of relegation by defeating Ross County under interim boss Liam Fox on Saturday.

The Jambos were in top-six contention just a few weeks ago but after a run of four league games without a win that culminated in manager Neil Critchley’s sacking last weekend, they find themselves just five points clear of second-bottom County.

Shankland conceded that – having seemingly eased away from the drop zone earlier this year – they are in a battle to avoid being sucked into the relegation play-off.

“The pressure’s on, there’s no denying that,” said the captain. “We’re in the situation we’re in as a team, which at the start of the season is not where we wanted to be. But it’s where we are and we need to deal with that.

“We’ve got a really, really important game at the weekend that we need to go and try and win. If we can win that then we can relax a wee bit and enjoy the last few games.

“I don’t imagine we’ve enjoyed too much throughout the season this year, as a collective. It would be nice to go into the last few games having that wee bit of breathing space and just go and play them out.”

Critchley became the second Hearts manager to lose his job this season after supporters turned on the Englishman during the defeat by Dundee.

“I think at this club in particular, the fans can get pretty hostile and obviously they’ve got the side of it where they’ve got ownership of the club as well, in terms of the board needing to work with that,” said Shankland. “I think it’s a pretty unique club in terms of pressure from the fans’ side.

“They do get a bit of a voice to voice their opinions and maybe that gets closer to people than it would at other clubs. It’s a decision that’s been made and us as players, we need to move on and work with Foxy and get the results we need before the end of the season.

“And if we do that, we can draw the line under the season.”

Shankland hit 59 goals in his first two seasons at Hearts but his form has come under scrutiny this term, with just five goals so far.

“It just hasn’t seemed to flow the same way,” he said. “I felt like I’ve got into positions to score and the ball has maybe not dropped, I’ve not caught it as cleanly as I did in the past when it just kind of comes with a wee bit of luck and a wee bit of confidence.

“Obviously, the goal I managed to get in the semi-final (against Aberdeen in his last match) was more like me. When I watched it back, I felt like it was a composed finish and that was more like me.

“I’ve maybe not had that throughout the season. It’s been a difficult season. We are where we are on the table and I’ve still managed to chip in with some goals and assists and be at the top end of the players producing that.

“I’m very critical of myself, but I’m trying not to be over-critical and get sucked into the noise around me.”