Aberdeen interim boss Barry Robson believes keeping Lawrence Shankland and Robert Snodgrass quiet is key to the Dons’ hopes of beating Hearts this weekend.
The Jambos make the trip north looking to extend their lead in third place in the Scottish Premiership and Robson believes former international team-mate Snodgrass and ex-Dons youth striker Shankland are two key threats in Robbie Neilson’s side.
He said: “Snoddy is a good player, terrific left foot. He can hurt you. I played for Scotland with Snoddy a few times.
“Lawrence too, who has done really well for himself. He holds the ball up well and scores goals.
“They are good footballers and good guys as well. Hopefully they don’t have a good game at the weekend and we are able to keep them quiet.”
‘You’re a long time retired’
Snodgrass was a target for former Dons boss Stephen Glass in January 2022 and eventually returned to Scotland following 14 years in English football in the summer when he joined Hearts.
The 35-year-old has been a key figure in the Jambos midfield and Robson is not surprised to see his former Scotland team-mate still playing a key role at the veteran stage of his career.
He said: “These days he plays a lot more central now – I did that myself as I got older. He is doing well at that.
“I always say to every player ‘just play as long as you can because you are a long time retired.’
“I kept going until I was three months short of my 38th birthday and I think I could have played on longer, but obviously Derek McInnes offered me a position as a coach at the time.
“He was telling me I was finished but I was telling him I wasn’t!
“I played for a long time because I looked after myself and I’m sure Snoddy is as well.
“That’s the key: if you want to play long you have got to eat right, live right – all these sorts of things.
“That’s how I managed to go on for so long. I tried to be really disciplined in what I did.”
Reducing the gap not on Robson’s mind
Hearts beat the Dons 5-0 at Tynecastle when the sides last met in January under former manager Jim Goodwin but interim boss Robson insists his focus is firmly on seeing further improvement from his team.
He said: “What we’ve been looking at is the last few games and I think we have improved as a team but we have so much more improvement to come.
“We’re looking sharper and we have to keep doing the basics well.
“If we do that we’ve got a chance but if you take your foot off the gas at any point you know what can happen – we’re coming up against a very good Hearts team.”
Victory for the Dons would reduce Hearts’ lead to four points but the caretaker manager says he will only be interested in the gap after tomorrow’s game.
He said: “That’s something I will think about on Saturday night or Sunday morning to be honest.
“It must be boring listening to me but that is what I was like as a player and what I’m like as a coach as well.
“You want to get all the details into the players to make sure you get a result for the club. That’s all I focus on.”
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