Lawrence Shankland didn't get it all his way while at Beerschot - but the new Hearts striker insists it provided him with plenty of lessons that could be beneficial long-term.
The Scotland international is in line for a competitive Tynecastle debut this afternoon when the Jambos begin their Premiership campaign at home against Ross County. Shankland joined Belgian side Beerschot from Dundee United last year but it didn't turn out as planned, scoring five times with four assists in a term where they suffered relegation from their First Division after coming in rock bottom.
Now at Hearts where a push for European football is on after securing group stage football until Christmas for this season last term, Shankland says he's eager to learn from his last 12 months.
He said: “I’m still glad I did that but it’s nice to be home and nice to be back at a big club. In a weird way there were good parts to it.
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“Overall it was a disappointing season for the team. I just had to take positives from it for myself and try and learn as much as I could while I was there, and try and improve myself coming back here.
“Hopefully over the season there will be things that come up that I can look back and say, ‘I probably learned that over in Belgium."
It was a tough season but Shankland's move follows a recent trend of Scottish players going abroad to try their hand. It's something the former Ayr United forward approves of.
He added: "Overall it was a challenging season but I am still glad I did it. It's a different culture, there's a lot to take in and learn. It was something I enjoyed and I would encourage people to do it if they get the chance."
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