You can rise even higher than Dobbie

IAN McCALL has called on Lawrence Shankland to emulate Stephen Dobbie’s route to the top – and then surpass him.

The Championship sharpshooters are set to go head to head at Somerset Park today in a fascinating battle of the second tier’s top marskmen.

Deadly Shankland and Dobbie have plundered an incredible 46 goals between them in all competitions this season ahead of their meeting.

Ayr boss McCall is hoping his man Shankland comes out on top but knows Dobbie’s qualities after working with him in the 35-year-old’s first stint at Palmerston.

And the Honest Men boss admitted he would love to have them as a partnership that would strike fear into the opposition.

Shankland is 12 years Dobbie’s junior and will inevitably leave Somerset Park. When he does, McCall wants him to surpass his rival’s success.

McCall said: “Stephen played in the English Premier League but he should have done more in his career – he was that good.

“And my advice to Lawrence when he goes is to follow Stephen’s career path but do even better because with the level of talent Stephen had he should have played and scored more in England.

“Stephen knows I think that because I think the world of him. He moved about a bit, probably not always down to him, but he had an exceptional talent.

“When I worked with him I thought he was naturally talented enough to do what he wanted. He reached the English Premier League but he should have played more.

“Lawrence is a different type but he could play with any TABLE-TOPPING Ayr look for revenge over a visiting

side that beat them 5-0 earlier in the season with Jamie Adams missing out.

look for a second derby win over

this season when the sides meet at East End Park with the Pars missing injured keeper Sean team in Scotland right now. We’ve got to just enjoy him as long we have him, hopefully until the end of the season.

“Dobbie is an inspiration to every striker in terms of how you turn your career around and enjoy longevity.

“There are parallels between the pair in terms of where Lawrence is in his career now and where Stephen was when I first worked with him.

“The main attribute they share is that they are unbelievable finishers. ”

Queen of the South defender Michael Doyle knows Shankland after playing with Murdoch as well as Mark Durnan. Falkirk’s new recruit Mustapha Dumbuya looks set for a place on the bench.

host minus the injured Reece Lyon.

The Wasps are looking to bounce back from defeats from Ayr and Dunfermline and they have Iain Flannagan available again