Is Shankland unfortunate not to be in Scotland squad?

Sixty-eight goals in his past three seasons. Eleven goal involvements in his past 10 league games. Leading the line for the Scottish Premiership leaders.

Yet, it is another Scotland snub for Heart of Midlothian captain Lawrence Shankland.

In a fairly predictable squad selection that has not prompted too many questions from the Tartan Army, the omission of the in-form 30-year-old is certainly one of them.

When asked how close Shankland was to being included for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Greece and Belarus, Scotland head coach Steve Clarke said: “Always close. I know Lawrence very well, I know what he can bring.

“I just felt the forwards I had last camp did well in the camp, did well in the games and have done well for their clubs in between. I didn’t see too much reason to change.”

Hearts head coach Derek McInnes reacted by saying he was “not surprised” by the decision but believes a recall for Shankland will come if he maintains his form.

They tell us Clarke does not pick his striking options purely based on goalscoring stats.

The Scotland boss has again selected the attacking quartet of Che Adams, Lyndon Dykes, George Hirst and Kieron Bowie for next month’s qualifiers.

By Shankland’s standards, his goalscoring form took a dip last season, but he has still outscored and provided more assists than any of the four strikers selected by Clarke since the start of last term.

The levels the forwards in question have been playing at have to come into the debate, though.

Hirst was playing Premier League football with relegated Ipswich Town last season, while Torino’s Adams is a Serie A striker.

Birmingham City’s Dykes was playing in England’s third tier last term but is now back in the Championship.

Bowie, who has recently turned 23, is more viewed as a long-term option since emerging as a key player for Hibernian in recent months.

Shankland, meanwhile, turned 30 in August but has come back into goalscoring form for Premiership leaders Hearts after a challenging season last term, during which he still managed 20 goal involvements (nine goals and 11 assists).

Over his past 10 league games, he has scored eight times and set up another three. His strike against Falkirk on Saturday made him the Scottish Professional Football League’s record scorer.

However, that form has never truly been rewarded with a run in Clarke’s side.

For some, it is difficult to imagine an Old Firm striker with Shankland’s record being denied a place in the squad.

Sure, there have been call-ups, caps – 16 of them – and three goals, but he has started just four games.

There is not just one reason for that and some of them we will never know.

What we do know is any player hoping to play in this side is trying to break into the best Scotland team in almost three decades.

That is not easy, especially when you factor in that Clarke regularly plays with just one striker, which has mostly been Adams or Dykes.

Former Southampton striker Adams, who has 10 Scotland goals in 41 caps, has been playing and scoring in the English and Italian top tiers over the past six years.

Dykes, for all his critics, has been an integral part of Clarke’s success since switching his allegiance to Scotland, scoring nine times in 44 appearances, and offers a different physical presence.

The devotion Clarke has shown to players like Dykes is something he often faces scrutiny for, but the Scotland boss does not hide his loyalty. In fact, Shankland has been a beneficiary of that.

The Hearts man had scored just once by November last season when Clarke selected him in a squad. “I’ll tell him I still love him,” the Scotland boss said with a smile on his face when questioned about his inclusion.

He has not been picked since, but his club boss says the prospect of being involved in a World Cup next summer must continue to drive the striker.

“The motivation for Lawrence, and for all players hoping to be involved with Scotland, is the World Cup,” McInnes said. “That has to be the goal.”