Rangers' Lawrence Shankland opens up on Kevin Kelsey transfer, Kim Minsu and what he said to Nicolas Raskin

Timing is something Lawrence Shankland very rarely lacks. The Rangers striker has made a career out of getting into the right positions and connecting with the ball at the most opportune moment.

Shankland also timed his brace against Falkirk well, not least because it secured a 2-1 win but keeps him front and centre ahead of a big-money signing at Ibrox.

Venezuelan striker Kevin Kelsy is a £9 million recruit from Portland Timbers and will be expected to start for Rangers going forward. Can he and Shankland, who is club captain, play together? The 31-year-old certainly welcomes the chase.

Lawrence Shankland scored twice as Rangers defeated Falkirk 2-1 on Wednesday night. | SNS Group

"I forget, you just remined me,” Shankland joked to the press when asked about Kelsy’s arrival and what it could mean for him. “But no, listen, there's always got to be healthy competition in football clubs.

“Of course, you're obviously talking about the transfer fee and stuff it's obviously important but that's the way football going, if you want good players, you need to pay money. He'll be a welcome addition to the squad and throughout the season, we're going to need good players to turn up so hopefully, you can come and do that and hit the ground running.

“If that may be allows us to play different systems at times, obviously the manager likes change to one striker or sometimes two. Listen, the more options that we have the better and the quality throughout the squad needs to be good if we're going to be successful in the season. We know that and I'm looking forward to working with everybody."

Shankland has already benefitted from the addition of South Korean No 10 Kim Minsu, whose running, creativity and intelligence has made extra space for Shankland. "He's been good,” said Shankland. “Obviously early days, but he's sharp from the off.

"Probably been a quick turn around for him, he got flung into two games, especially away from home and I don't imagine he's played on artificial surfaces too much in Spain. He'll take time to adapt. From what I've seen, early signs, he's looked really sharp and settled in fine around the place and off the pitch. He's a really good boy so he will work hard and hopefully be part of a successful team so he's a welcome addition as well."

Another man Shankland can call a teammate - at least until the winter - is Nicolas Raskin, who after a summer of transfer speculation is set to stay at Ibrox. He was given a start for Rangers at the Falkirk Stadium and his skipper was impressed by how he has handled the situation.

"He did great,” said Shankland. “Also it's not easy when there is a lot of noise. I have been involved in it in the past in my own career. It's not the easiest thing to park, especially when it comes to yesterday, there's a lot of stories and stuff kicking around. So the level of professionalism he showed to focus on his job, he did really well and played a vital part in getting three points and that’s the important thing.

"I asked him if he was alright. He said aye and I gave him the thumbs up and that was it, we were ready to go. I trust him, he's your teammate and since he has come back from the World Cup he's trained well. He's been a part of the squad.

"As part of being a good player at the World Cup, there's obviously going to be speculation and whatever happens, happens but the main thing was he turned up and done his job professionally and that's all I can ask."