'The goals will return before long' - Gordon backs Shankland

Craig Gordon is convinced Hearts and Scotland team-mate Lawrence Shankland will soon be back to his goalscoring best.

Shankland has netted just once for the Edinburgh side in 18 matches this season after hitting 59 across his first two years at Tynecastle.

Despite his barren run, the 29-year-old striker has been recalled to Steve Clarke's Scotland squad for their upcoming Nations League games against Croatia and Portugal.

Goalkeeper Gordon, who is expected to start the double-header with Angus Gunn still out injured, said of Shankland: "Everybody knows what a good goalscorer he is and sooner rather than later that will come back.

"I have been training with him over the last few weeks and I can see in training he is giving absolutely everything. At times his touch has been really good and he has been scoring goals in training.

"It just hasn't materialised in matches but I have absolutely no doubt he will be back scoring goals very soon. He is too good a player for that to last for any length of time.

"It's great that he is here and I am sure the goals will be back before too long."

Scotland assistant John Carver also has full faith in the 29-year-old.

"When you're a good player and you’re a goalscorer, eventually that barren spell happens," Carver said.

"We all know what he's about. He's a goalscorer, he gets between the posts, he plays inside the 18-yard box. If he has to play for us or start or come on, that's what we want him to do and we’ll encourage him to do that.

"The good thing is, he's actually getting into those positions to actually try and score goals. It's just not coming off for him now, where it did last season and the season before that.

"So, everybody's in full support of Lawrence. We love him to bits and the players around him understand it."