CHRIS Millar believes that Morton have what it takes to stop Dundee United goal machine Lawrence Shankland as they bid to halt the Terrors’ title charge.

The Ton midfielder admits that it will be no mean feat nullifying the Scotland international and has acknowledged the firepower that Dundee United hold ahead of Saturday’s clash at Tannadice. He says that the Ton will have to be at their best to keep the red hot striker at bay, who has already notched four goals against his former side this season.

He told the Tele: “It’s easier said than done stopping Lawrence Shankland and everyone knows what he’s capable of. We know the qualities that not just he has but the whole Dundee United squad possess.

“I watched their Scottish Cup tie against Hibernian and they didn’t get a sniff in the first half, but he got one chance right on the cusp of half-time and showed good strength to get a shot away in the box.”

“That’s the difference with him, when he’s in the box, he’s got that composure and can remain ice-cold under pressure.

“What you might see in other strikers is that they tense up or rush to get their shot away, but he doesn’t seem to do that one bit and that’s probably why his scoring record has been so impressive over the last few seasons.

“You know that even if you can keep him quiet for 75 minutes, he just needs that one chance where he can pop up out of nowhere.

“You get the same idea when he scored here back in December in his first game back from injury, he managed to get a touch and took it away from the defender before getting his shot away.

“He can score all kinds of goals though, he’s in brilliant form just now and he’s always had that.

“He’s showing that maturity, he even did that when he was here, and that’s why we know we need to keep an eye on him.”

Millar is confident that with the Ton’s upturn in form, which has seen them pick up nine points out of their last 12, he and his team-mates can provide a shock result at Tannadice as they look to continue to move away from Partick Thistle in the relegation play-off spot.

He added: “We’ve got some good footballers here and what people sometimes forget is that we’ve started with a whole new squad at the start of the season, again, so we’re only three or four months into the project that the gaffer wants to implement and carry out.

“You can start to see that we’re playing better, we’re starting to carry a threat and not only that, we’re starting to look better defensively too.

“I think we can go into the game with a bit of confidence and I don’t see why we can’t go and get a result.”