Ex Celtic star urges former club to keep hold of Rangers linked striker

Former Rangers, Celtic and Hearts defender Steven Pressley has said keeping a hold of Lawrence Shankland will be a ‘key factor’ for the Jambos’ European ambitions next season.

The Scotland international has been heavily linked with a move to Rangers over the past few months and although a move failed to materialise in January a summer switch could still be on the cards. The Edinburgh side were determined to keep hold of their talismanic forward and captain, who has scored 29 goals in all competitions this season, but he is approaching the final year of his current Tynecastle contract.

Pressley, who represented Rangers early in his career and turned out for Celtic following his iconic spell in Gorgie, was back in Glasgow yesterday to preview this weekend’s Scottish Cup semi finals. Rangers face Hearts on Sunday while Celtic take on Aberdeen on Saturday.

A key factor is keeping in Shankland and building from there, and building from there, bringing in players who can support and provide for him. If they can do that then hopefully they can have success but you need a bigger squad. The challenges of playing on a Thursday then returning home and having to reproduce that form is difficult. Many of our clubs have been found out in the past few seasons.”

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