Lawrence Shankland will be an oasis of calm as Dundee United strive to rediscover free-scoring form that has deserted them.
That is the view of Tannadice assistant boss Lee McCulloch, who is backing Shankland to end his mini dry spell and get back on the goal trail for the Tangerines.
Shankland earned plenty of plaudits for scoring his first goal for Scotland against San Marino at Hampden as a well as a fine performance as a substitute in Russia.
However, either side of the striker’s international debut against the Russians in Moscow and first start against world football’s minnows, he drew a blank for his club in dismal away defeats at Alloa and Queen of the South.
Having found the net 13 times already for United in the league, the frontman has plenty in the bank when it comes to goals.
More worrying than Shankland not scoring was the overall performance level of the team at both the Indodrill Stadium and Palmerston.
The Tangerines must improve drastically from that 4-0 loss to Queens last weekend when they face Dunfermline at Tannadice this Saturday.
The pressure is on United but, argues McCulloch, Shankland is someone who will take it all in his stride.
“All the good strikers don’t care about critics,” said the former Rangers and Scotland player.
“Ones I have worked with like Ally McCoist, Kris Boyd, Kenny Miller, Emile Heskey – all those guys – in a weird way they thrive on criticism.
“They see it as a chance to prove people wrong and I don’t see Shanks being any different.
“He is a very level-headed guy, even cold in that he doesn’t get aggressive or uptight.
“Everything is just water off a duck’s back to him.
“There is a calmness to him that I really like.
“That can only be a good thing if that spreads throughout the dressing room.”
He may have had a frustrating time in United’s last two fixtures but McCulloch stressed just how well things have gone for Shankland since his arrival at Tannadice.
“He has done phenomenally well,” said the coach.
“He deserved the Scotland call-up.
“I thought he was brilliant against Russia when he came on in the second half. That was a hard game to come on as a sub and I actually felt a bit sorry for him because the backs were to the wall.
“However, his touch and movement were terrific.
“To get his first start for Scotland at home at Hampden and then score his first goal – he must have been pinching himself.
“However, it’s all deserved and he got a standing ovation from all the boys when he came back to our dressing room after international duty.
“He works really hard on his game and is at the gym before training.
“He then works so hard in very training session.
“He also has his feet on the ground and it’s great for the young ones to see that in him.”
