Gordon bides time ahead of battle to win back his place

CRAIG Gordon remains convinced he is Scotland’s best goalkeeper but admits he now faces a major battle to prove it as he tries to overcome the injury which has cast a cloud over his career with both club and country.

Back at Hampden yesterday on promotional duty, Gordon is still some distance from being able to return to action on the pitch. He has not played for Sunderland since 12 February after sustaining a knee injury which was not accurately diagnosed until recently. The 28-year-old, whose career has also been disrupted by a twice-broken arm over the past two years, has resumed light training but is unsure when he will be able to play again.

“There’s been no reaction from the injury as yet but I haven’t done anything difficult so far,” said Gordon. “We’ll review it again in a couple of weeks and see where I am. I haven’t put a timescale on a comeback as it’s quite an unusual injury, so I don’t want to put any pressure on myself. It’s more important to get it right so that I don’t do any further damage when I do come back.

“I don’t know it if will (be as good as new) or not. I’ve not been told that I won’t be able to get back to 100 per cent. So I think that once everything eventually settles down, I should be okay.

“You always worry, with every injury, how well you are going to recover. I don’t want to blame anyone for not picking the injury up at first. Even the surgeon, when they first scanned it, thought it was tendonitis. It was only when they opened the knee up that they realised there was the tear. It was very difficult to diagnose until they actually went in and had a look. I’m not blaming anybody.

“There are times when it’s difficult. Especially when you are doing your rehab, some of it can be quite painful at times. But there’s no other way, you have to get through it if you want to get back playing football.

“That’s my motivation, to get back playing. To get back playing here at Hampden as well. That motivates you to get through those days when it maybe isn’t going quite so well or is a bit sore.”

Gordon is in the last year of his contract at Sunderland who, because of his injury, signed Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Kieron Westwood during the summer as competition for manager Steve Bruce’s current first choice, the Belgian international Simon Mignolet.

“I don’t necessarily think I need to leave Sunderland,” observed Gordon. “I’ve not spoken to the manager about my future at all and he hasn’t told me where I stand.

“Once I’m fit and able to play again I’m confident I can get back into his team. Eventually that conversation will have to take place but it’s immaterial until I become available for selection again. I have to get fit again before I can start knocking on his door and asking questions.

“I’m not in a position to know when I’ll be fit and ready to play, whether it will be during the January transfer window or whatever. If and when that occurs, I’ll have a look at it then.”

Gordon has been linked with moves to Arsenal and Manchester City, while Celtic were also credited with an interest in him during their search for a goalkeeper which culminated in the re-signing of Fraser Forster on loan.

“I heard the Celtic stories,” added Gordon. “I don’t know exactly how far it got or what happened. Certainly, there wasn’t an option there. I didn’t have the choice. I didn’t turn anything down or anything like that. If there was anything between the clubs, I didn’t get to hear that it was happening.”

Already ruled out of Scotland’s Euro 2012 qualifying double-header against Czech Republic and Lithuania at the start of next month, Gordon also seems unlikely to be in contention for the concluding Group I fixtures against Liechtenstein and Spain in October. In his absence, Allan McGregor has firmly established himself as Craig Levein’s first-choice ‘keeper.

“Allan has done a good job since he’s been in the team,” said Gordon. “From my point of view, it’s disappointing that he’s managed to amass as many caps as that while I’ve been out injured. Maybe it’s a bit selfish, but that’s the way I look at things. But you can’t control what anyone else does, you can only control what you do yourself.

“I haven’t played since the game against the Faroes in Aberdeen last November when I said I still regarded myself as Scotland’s number one. I still feel that way. If I ever stopped thinking that way, then I’m in the wrong mindset. I want to play as many games as I possibly can for Scotland.

“If I want to get back there, I have to start playing some football. The last goal is to get back into the Scotland team, the first one is to get myself fit. Then I’ve got to get myself playing some games to put the pressure on. Then I’ve got to get back in the Scotland team. Those are the things which motivate me every day I go into training.

“When I come back, I’ll have to prove myself all over again. After the injuries I’ve had, everyone will be looking at that. But every time you play for Scotland, you have to prove you are worthy of that position. You have to fight for everything you get and that’s what I intend to do.”