Lawrence Shankland tipped as Celtic party pooper as Hearts leader falls into the Boyd and Griffiths category

Steven Naismith believes natural born finisher Lawrence Shankland can be the man to wreck Celtic’s title party.

Hearts’ interim boss believes his skipper has graduated in the goal stakes into the Kris Boyd, Scott McDonald and Leigh Griffiths bracket of marksmen in the Scottish top flight over the last two decades. A packed Tynecastle is preparing for the possibility of the Hoops being crowned champions tomorrow but Naismith is adamant the Jambos can delay that party after hailing the impact of Shankland.

He has bagged 25 goals since arriving from Beerschot last summer, including a hat-trick against Celtic during a 4-3 defeat in the capital last October. He said: “When you think of Shanks, you then fall back into thinking about Griff, Boydy, Scott McDonald, these guys that are natural finishers. These guys are that, from the first time I was in the Scotland squad to now, more so since he’s moved abroad, I would say he is an all round forward, his link up play is much better – hence why he gets back in the national team.

“On top of that I think the previous manager giving him the captaincy has played a big part, he’s a leader. He’s a good character, he understands when something serious needs to be said or when it’s a good moment to have a laugh.

“The biggest thing is we’re creating more chances. If you create chances he will score goals.”

Hearts fired six past Ross County in their last outing with Shankland grabbing a treble. Naismith is adamant his side will attempt to go on the offensive against a Celtic side he’s watched and used as a personal source of inspiration as they aim to chase down third-place Aberdeen who sit five points above them.

He said: “Celtic have been consistently the best team for the past two