The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Coach sure praise will not change United star
STRIKER: Dressing room applause for Shankland will have to be earned again, warns McCulloch
Lawrence Shankland received a rousing ovation from his Dundee United team-mates after bringing the house down.
He may have topped the bill as the curtain came up on the Championship season but he won’t let the applause go to his head.
Just minutes after receiving the adulation of the Tannadice crowd as he was substituted late in the opening-day win over Inverness Caley Thistle, Shankland even had his colleagues clapping his four-goal show when they all gathered in the dressing room.
It was a mark of respect for the marksman but the Tangerines are sure that he won’t be getting carried away.
Indeed, it has been business as usual at the training ground this week for Shankland ahead of tomorrow night’s trip to Firhill to face Partick Thistle.
United assistant head coach Lee McCulloch said: “He got a round of applause when he came into the dressing room after the Inverness game.
“Then, when he came in again on Monday morning, it was all forgotten about.”
“There are no real egos or superstars in there,” added McCulloch.
“Everybody is as one and that’s Lawrence down to a tee really.
“He is very levelheaded and that’s one thing as a coaching staff that we’ve tried to instil in the dressing-room.
“He is an incredibly grounded guy.
“That’s the mark and the makings of the culture and environment that the manager and the coaching staff have created here.”
McCulloch, who found the back of the net for Rangers, Motherwell, Wigan and Scotland during his playing career, still feels Shankland can learn more about the game, albeit he accepts his natural ability in front of goal is a gift.
“As an ex-striker, I definitely feel I can help Lawrence,” said the United coach.
“I feel as though I’ve got pretty good game knowledge.
“I been working more with the forwardthinking players like Shanks and Nicky Clark.
“Shanks is a natural goalscorer so I don’t think you can really tell someone like that where to go inside the box.
“It’s like an Ally McCoist. They can’t really be coached inside the penalty area when crosses are coming in.
“They just take up natural positions.
“However, every single player in the world can probably improve.
“So that’s what we’re trying to do individually and collectively.
“Lawrence has got that tremendous hunger to be a better player.”
After such a convincing start to their Championship campaign, McCulloch admitted the crucial thing for United now is to maintain the momentum provided by the 4-1 win over Inverness Caley Thistle.
That won’t be easy to do against a Thistle side that may have problems behind the scenes but are still considered to be potential promotion contenders.
McCulloch said: “The preparation this week has been one day less with the game being on the Friday night but it’s been going well.
“After last Saturday’s result, the big thing now is trying to get a wee bit of momentum going.
“We are old enough and experienced enough not to get carried away. “It’s only one game. “It’s a decent start and a great performance.
“However, the main thing is trying to build on that.
“We have to lay the foundations for what is hopefully going to be a successful season.”