Right man, wrong time – departing Pittodrie was best

At this stage, it is a case of why not? Lawrence Shankland’s record in recent years is ridiculous.

He hit 62 in 73 games at Ayr United and has started off this season in a similar vein, netting 15 times in 12 games for Dundee United.

He scored four in the first game of the season against Caley Thistle; Scotland have not had a forward in this sort of form in a long time so why be snooty about him playing in the second tier?

If you look at the striking options available to Steve Clarke at the moment, it would be remiss of him not to get Shankland involved in the squad. Leigh Griffiths is not playing for Celtic, Steven Fletcher is reportedly considering his international future despite scoring four in eight games for Sheffield Wednesday, while Steven Naismith has not been involved with Hearts since the end of August.

Oli McBurnie is in the squad and is playing regularly for Sheffield United in the Premier League, even if goalscoring remains an issue with just one goal to his name so far. Matt Phillips, with four goals to his name for West Brom in the Championship, can maybe feel aggrieved at being left out of the squad. Oli Burke’s recall is somewhat of a surprise given he has played a game and a half of football for Alaves.

So where do you go next? How far down the pecking order do you go? Jordan Rhodes has only started one game for Wednesday this season and has not played an international game in more than two years. Chris Martin has just 20 minutes under his belt this season for Derby.

Given Shankland’s hugely impressive statistics, he merits at least an audition.

The subject of his Aberdeen days has been raised before and whether the Dons missed the boat by letting him go. When asked earlier this year about his form since leaving Pittodrie, Derek McInnes said he always had the ability to finish but needed to become a more wellrounded player.

During his time with the Dons, Adam Rooney was in peak form and Shankland, relatively new to senior football at that stage, was not going to dislodge the Irishman.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and while it would have been beneficial for the Dons to have had Shankland in the form he is now, he is unlikely to have got the games required to get to this level. Leaving was probably best for both.