Shanks was a top finisher at Dons now he’ll be the top man in Scotland

Anderson expects old mate to lead goal charts

Bruce Anderson used to look up to Lawrence Shankland when he was a kid at Aberdeen.

And by the end of this season, he reckons the Hearts hitman could be looking down on every striker in Scotland.

The pair came through the ranks at Pittodrie, albeit three years apart, but have made their name away from the Granite City.

While Shankland has excelled at the likes of Ayr and Dundee United before moving to Tynecastle, Anderson is getting back to his best at Livingston.

The Lions centre- forward has known about Shankland’s finishing prowess from when they were teenagers with the Dons.

And he now expects the 20- goal Jambos star to top the Premiership scoring charts come May.

Ahead of facing Hearts at the Tony Macaroni Arena today, Anderson said: “They have a natural goalscorer in Lawrence.

“I played with him at Aberdeen and when you have a guy like that, it breeds confidence in the team.

“Lawrence was always a goalscorer – you could tell that even when he was younger.

“He’s improved other aspects of his game massively and is probably the best striker in the league right now.

“I expect him to keep getting goals and finish top scorer this season.

“He’s the main man at Hearts, the one they rely on for goals, so there’s a good chance of it happening.

“When I was 16 at Aberdeen he was the one I got talking to. Even then his finishing was ridiculous.

“I was saying to myself: ‘ Right, I need to get to that level.’

“I’m not sure why it didn’t work for him at Aberdeen. He was brilliant with the Under-20s so it was a shock he didn’t.

“We’ve both taken a different route to other players. But ultimately it’s just all about working hard.

“Lawrence has done that since getting his knock-back at Aberdeen.

“We both still speak on social media and have chats before and after we play against each other.

“But I’ ll be trying my best for Livingston and he’ll be doing the same for Hearts.”

Anderson accepts that Robbie Neilson’s men are Scotland’s undisputed third force at the moment.

But Livi aren’t far off the Jambos, just seven points behind in the table with a game in hand.

And the striker says they can challenge Hearts for third spot especially if they come out on top this afternoon. He said: “Why not? We’ve got the squad to do it. We go into games now knowing we’ve got a real chance of winning.

“You see our togetherness and spirit in every game so why can’t it be us?

“We’ve a never-say-die attitude and if we beat Hearts we should be looking up the way, not behind us.

“When I used to come here as an opposition player, I hated it.

“We have to use that to our advantage and make it horrible for teams coming to Livingston.”

Anderson and his team-mates will want a fast start against the Jambos – to avoid a half-time dressing-down from gaffer David Martindale.

His verbal volley after a poor firsthalf display against Stenhousemuir in the Scottish Cup last week has gone viral online.

But Anderson says that was TAME compared to what his manager is capable of.

He’s adamant that getting an earful from their gaffer can often help Livi’s cause. And with rumours circulating that the likes of Aberdeen and Hibs could look at Martindale if their manager ’ s job becomes vacant, Anderson would be gutted to see him go.

He sa id: “That was him being calm! As players sometimes you need that to get a reaction.

“If you can’t handle that, there’s no point playing.

“It worked because we flew out the traps in the second half. Sometimes you need a kick up the backside to get yourself in gear.

“Losing the gaffer is not something we think about.

“I’m not surprised his name is being linked – look at the job he’s done here.

“As players we just get on with it but obviously we all hope nothing comes of it.”