Lawrence Shankland tagged world class by Hearts teammate as 'stupid' Hibs missile throwers were NEVER putting him off

Nathaniel Atkinson insisted world class Lawrence Shankland is ready to sink his teeth into Celtic after munching a pie amid Wednesday’s derby mayhem.

The Hearts striker kept his cool when all hell was breaking loose at Tynecastle in the controversial Edinburgh stalemate. The SPFL have launched an investigation after Shanks was pelted by missiles that included a lighter, a bottle opener and even AirPod earphones – as well as the pastry – with Hibs players also pelted from the stands.

Atkinson hailed the hitman for keeping the head as Hearts recovered from their hefty defeat to Rangers at Ibrox with a battling point against their fierce foes. And the Aussie insisted it will take more than bedlam in the terraces to distract sharp shooter Shankland. Atkinson said: "I think he had a bite of a pie after he scored the goal. He came in at half-time and said it was a bit of a spicy one. He's a world class player and nothing is going to put him off.

“That's a derby, isn't it? You've got fans in the background wanting to chuck stuff on the pitch. I don't look into it too much, it's a bit of a stupid thing, let's get on with the game. They are passionate fans, we don't agree with it, what can you do?”

Atkinson was gutted Hearts couldn’t complete the comeback and grab all three points. But it was a positive reaction on the back of the 5-0 Ibrox humbling that gives the confidence another jolt ahead of Sunday’s showdown with Celts.

Atkinson said: “I think it was a bit of a wake-up call. I don't think it was a confidence thing, being on such a great run recently. That's football, you are not going to win every game. You'd like to. No player wakes up and thinks 'I want to lose'.

“It's one of those things. We've got another tough game