As Lawrence Shankland sits with the Rangers crest on his chest during his first pre-season with the club, he knows this is an opportunity earned, not given. Even if, to the outside world, and even to some members of his own family, it looked like the ship had sailed on a dream move to his boyhood club.
Around a year ago, Shankland flew out late to join Derek McInnes’ Hearts squad after protracted contract talks finally led to an agreement. On the face of it, a three-year deal, taking the player well into his early 30s, suggested he was committing his prime years to Hearts.
Not so. A year on, both McInnes and Shankland have left Hearts, with Cammy Devlin joining them over the weekend. A clause in the forward’s contract earlier this summer, known only to a select few, allowed Rangers to sign the 30-year-old on a free in June as circumstances finally aligned.
“I was obviously delighted to get signed up [at Hearts] last season as well,” he says, speaking from the club’s pre-season base in Spain. “Every deal you sign in your career is really important to you. Of course, every player has ambition; you want to push yourself on.
“Rangers is somewhere I’ve always wanted to be and I knew I’d have to go and have a good season again, impress, and try to get here. Every player wants to go bigger and better.
“I feel that’s a normal mentality, but this is a place I always aimed to be and I’m just delighted to be here.
“I can’t go into the clause too deeply because it’s between me and Hearts at the time, so I’m not going to expand on that too much if I’m honest, but there was a clause in my contract.
“It wasn’t just Rangers as a club [who could activate it], but if a potential move came then it was something both myself and the club could work towards to make it happen. Once I let them know I wanted to come here, then it was pretty smooth sailing from then on and it was all pretty clear.”
Shankland’s name has never been far from Rangers, despite only facing them as an opponent in recent years and with no formal approach materialising. As previously reported, the last time a move was seriously on the cards came during Steven Gerrard’s spell in charge. Shankland admits even some of his family felt a switch to Ibrox might never happen.
“I think the last time it was properly close was probably when I was at Ayr United,” he adds.
“There have been rumours every transfer window since then, but I think that was probably as close as it got because I’d just left Aberdeen to go there and I was still pretty young.
“Listen, even people in my family thought it might have been a missed opportunity and it would never happen. But I always had that belief I could make it happen and thankfully for me it has.”
Rewind a few years in the Scotland international’s career and, even after his goalscoring exploits for Ayr United, a move like this still felt distant. Shankland managed just 13 league goals between 2020 and 2022, but, given a platform at Hearts, his game evolved. Not just a goalscorer, especially under McInnes, he developed his all-round impact outside the box.
“I know I’ve certainly worked hard for this move; I know that for myself, obviously," says Shankland, who started his career playing part-time football for Queen's Park.
"People can see from the outside the match-day stuff and the goals you go and score. They see all the stuff that goes on there in the public eye, but what they don’t see is what’s behind all that, the years of graft, playing at lower levels, people writing you off when you reach the high levels. You need to fight against that and it’s always been something I’ve been resilient against.
“I’ve always wanted to prove myself and obviously when I got the move to Hearts initially, people thought that was a big move for me. But I went there and did what I did. Now obviously I’ve got the opportunity here so I’m buzzing for it. And hopefully when I leave here people remember me for the same.”
Working again with a manager he thrived under last season offers added incentive, although little was needed to sell the move.
“I think the manager knows me as a player first and foremost. He’s known me for a long time. He knows what I thrive on as a player.
“My role probably last year was a bit different to what he’d maybe seen when I was younger because I did have that freedom to come off and play as well. Obviously, throughout your career you grow, your game grows and you can add things to it.
“So that was a side to it that he saw a bit differently in me. But coming here, the good thing is he knows what to expect from me and what to expect from myself, so we’re on the same page."
Devlin’s move from Hearts, completed over the weekend, adds another piece from the successful side built at Tynecastle last season. Shankland believes the Australian international has developed significantly and that Rangers will benefit from his presence.
“I’ve been chatting to him a lot obviously. I’ve been there a year ago myself when you have a lot of decisions to make and it is difficult so I did feel for him at times,” Shankland says.
“He’s buzzing to be here as well. He’s been talking to me ever since he signed, so he’s delighted. He’ll bring energy. I think he probably doesn’t get enough credit for how good a player he actually is. Until his injury last year he was probably one of the best midfielders in the league, to be honest.
“He was playing really top of his game so he’ll look to re-find that form as quickly as possible when he gets back out training. We’re close as friends. We actually got injured at the same time last season as well, so we’ve spent a lot of time with each other on and off the pitch and in the gym. I’m delighted to have him here and look forward to seeing him.
“He can [improve players next to him]. Especially as an attacking player, he retrieves the ball that much. He just gets it back for you and the team can progress from there.
“But I think last season, when he was in form, he added to his game. If you look from when he started playing for Hearts to now, Cammy’s a much better player than he was at the start.”
Next week, Shankland will walk out at Ibrox for the first time as a Rangers player. He’s done the walk many times in opposition, but now he has the chance to live out a dream he’s earned properly.
“I’ve probably been thinking more about the competitive matches starting than about friendlies,” he admits.
“People have asked me how it feels, but I think it’ll really sink in when you’re going out there for your first competitive game, running out in front of a full stadium.
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“These are the things you obviously dreamed of as a kid, so I’m buzzing for it. But there’s a lot of hard work to do before then in the next couple of weeks before that first away game at Tannadice.”
Like McInnes, Shankland knows the only way to truly enjoy the moment is by becoming a winning Rangers player. He's reached the top of one mountain by arriving at Rangers, but the climbing only really starts now.
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