LEARNING CURVEBALL

Shanks: We must use our Euro experiences to get it right now

- GORDON PARKS

LESSONS learned during Hearts' last venture into Europe have clearly had a lasting impression on Lawrence Shankland.

When the Jambos skipper was asked about his biggest takeaway from their previous travels, he said: "Don't get beat."

Tonight's Europa Conference League third-round, first-leg qualifier against Rosenborg in Trondheim will provide a test as to just how far the penny has dropped for the Tynecastle side on that most basic of requirements at this level.

The flashbacks to those continental disappointments against Zurich, Fiorentina and Istanbul Basaksehir remain fresh for the Scotland hitman.

And he's adamant this Norwegian mission is backed by having a far better understanding of what awaits them.

Shankland said: "The quality of opposition you come up against in Europe for most games is very high.

"The good thing is we've had experience of that now, albeit last season we had a couple of hard lessons as well. The biggest thing is you need to learn from those experiences and take key points from them.