Craig Gordon

Aye hes ideal back up. I prefer Bain.

 

He picked him in a dead rubber. Managers always have to try and keep back-up keepers interested and make them believe they have a chance of being first choice. What is he supposed to say? ‘ I think he is * but we are five up so I may as well give him a game to cheer the * up’.

Bain will be first choice, don’t worry.

 

CRAIG GORDON handles most things that come his way.

The challenge of getting back into the Celtic team won’t be any different.

The big man knows he has a fight on his hands to become the club’s No 1 again. Scott Bain will make sure of that.

But Gordon, 36, is as determined to prove himself as he’s ever been after returning to action in Estonia on Tuesday night after seven months out.

Neil Lennon gave him a chance to impress and he grabbed it.

But asked if he’d consider his future if he started the season as Celtic’s back-up keeper, Gordon shook his head and said: “No, because there are so many games at the club to try and get back in the team

“I feel in good shape and ready to play. I feel that I can put that pressure on the manager.

“If he chooses Scott then I’ll get behind that decision and we try and do the best we can as a team.


You never know what can happen in football. Signings happen all the time right up until deadline day.

“But I just want to play here as much as I possibly can, until I’m told I’m no longer needed. But I’m ready for the challenge.

“I’m ready to give everything I’ve got to play but so will Scott.

“Whoever plays plays. We get on really well together in training so there are never any bad words or animosity.

We always support each other and that’s the way it’ll stay. But I’m happy to be back competing for a place. It’s a nice feeling after so long.”

Gordon has every right to feel hard done to with the way he lost his place last season.


He performed heroics against Rangers at Ibrox at the end of December only for then manager Brendan Rodgers to sit him down during the winter break trip to Dubai and tell him he was facing a spell on the sidelines with Bain set to be given a chance to shine.

It was then that Gordon’s knee injury — that he’d been managing for a year and a half — saw him forced to have surgery.

He added: “That took me a while deal with. I felt I’d played a pretty good game that day at Ibrox. But the manager said he wanted to try Scott in a run of games.

“It was something he’d never done, it was always the odd cup game here and there he’d played in. It was never back to back games and he felt he wanted to do that.

“The manager spoke to me during the winter break and said he was going to give him four of five games to look at what his options were in terms of goalkeepers.

“I don’t think Scott lost a goal in the first few games, and went from strength to strength.

“After a month or so the manager came back to me and said he didn’t want to change it again because the team was playing really well. So that was that.

“It was explained to me. I didn’t like it — but that’s football. Scott did really well so what I did then was try and work really hard to get back.


But unfortunately for me I got the injury that ended up keeping me out for quite a long time.

“The injury had been coming, it was something I’d been dealing with. I was coping with it for the best part of 18 months. I was just managing it and getting through the games.

“But then when I was out the team the rest of the boys seemed to train more in preparation for getting back into the team, and that’s when it was too much for me.

“There are always frustrations being out the team. I’ve definitely felt that from time to time.

“Having had a similar injury in my other knee I know how tough it is. It seems to be an injury I seem to get and I don’t know why.

“But I’ve managed to come through and I’m well on the way to being 100 per cent. I’m not there yet but these games help.

“I’ve had a really good pre-season so I feel in good shape and was ready for Wednesday night.

“I’ve been working really hard with Woodsy to get into a position to challenge again. So physically I felt in good shape going into the match.”

 

Boruc is the best 'keeper we've had this century.

Aye he went off the rails towards the end of his time here, but for a fair amount of time he could have walked into most sides in the world.

 

Its worrying the amount of publicity this chimp is getting.

 

Yer annoyed aren’t you.

 

Good attitude there as far as I am concerned and happy to have Gordon here to push Bain and step in now and then like last night to give Bain some breathers.

 

Should be given another chance.

Brilliant GK.

 

Personally I like him. Think he has been a good keeper for us. I do prefer Bain right now but happy to have Gordon stay as number 2 for now and try and push Bain hard for the number 1 spot.

 

Good to have two top players fighting it out.

 

I’d rather play efe ambrose in goal than this useless *, the fact we could’ve sold him and didn’t still annoys me.

 

I’ve never been able to separate him and Fraser, but Boruc being a mad * always gets him browny points

 

Boruc on his game is the best, for me had everything. Forsters better consistency makes it a tough call

 

I'd agree, Bain has had a decent chance now and hasn't quite stepped it up as we would hope.
I'd still be okay seeing him get the whole of next season and playing in Europe for us.
But it's a risk, and personally I feel he isn't the greatest keeper we can get.

Would like us to go in for a younger keeper like we did with Forster.

Gordon however has proved for years now where his weakness lies and I would have serious issues if he walked back in to the number one spot. Saturday will be telling.

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It's quite amazing how everyone rates Boruc and forgets his form etc.

 

CG: "I want to play as many games as I possibly can, so to do that I've just been training to the best of my ability to give myself that opportunity.

CG: "We've had a long pre-season and the games have come thick and fast. We now have to go for the
@EuropaLeague
and make sure we get to the group stages."

CG on #UEL: "There's a lot of very good teams in the competition. We want to try and go as far as we possibly can, but we know we've got a very difficult play-off game to even get there.

CG: "We've been here before and had the highs and lows. We know what we have to do and will focus on trying to do that."




CG on AIK: "We've been doing our preparations. They have some good quality players. I played with Seb Larsson at Sunderland so I know all about his qualities." #CELAIK #UEL

 

I take from that, were gonna * pump them and win the QAUDTREBLE!!!!!!!!

 

I'm happy enough with Gordon back in between the sticks.

Some of the goals Bain has let in have been horrendous.

 

Aye I think he starts tomorrow tbh.