Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Robbie backing Shanks to shine in spotlight – and says he’s going nowhere
ROBBIE Neilson says any interest in Lawrence Shankland will have no effect on Dundee United’s star man.
English Championship side Nottingham Forest have shown interest in the 19-goal striker, currently on international duty with Scotland.
Robbie, though, says any speculation will only fire his main man on.
The Tannadice gaffer said: “Listen, if you have a guy who comes i n and scores 19 goals in the first part of the season then there i s goi ng t o be speculation.
“He is a striker, so he enjoys scoring goals.
“I have been very impressed with him because you get some strikers who miss a chance and it affects them.
“Lawrence might miss one but he just gets the ball and goes in again.
“For me, that is a sign of a strong character who is going to be able to handle nonsense and negativity. We don’t have an issue with it at all.
“I have no doubt whatsoever that Lawrence will come back to us after doing exceptionally well again for Scotland duty and continue t o score goals for us – then there will be more people interested in him!”
He also confirmed he expects any bids in January to be met with short shrift.
“I don’t think there will be any bids getting entertained i n January, that is for sure,” he said.
“The owner Mark Ogren was over last month and spoke about the importance of keeping Lawrence and making sure we get ourselves out of this league.
“I expect him to be here at the start of February.”
Meanwhile, Peter Pawlett and Troy Brown returned to training yesterday ahead of tomorrow’s home clash with Queen of the South.