Rough says Gordon has his work cut out to reclaim gloves from McGregor

Former Scotland goalkeeper Alan Rough has warned Craig Gordon that he has a major fight on his hands to reclaim the gloves from Allan McGregor once fully fit.

Gordon is recovering from the knee surgery he underwent in April and has also seen his time at Sunderland blighted by a previous knee problem and a broken arm, but spoke recently of his confidence of reclaiming the number one jersey for both club and country.

Rough is a big admirer of the former Hearts captain but admits he cannot fault the efforts of Rangers goalkeeper McGregor, who has made the most of Gordon’s absence to establish himself as boss Craig Levein’s top choice.

Rough – who earned 53 caps for Scotland – said: “I have to hold my hands up and say that I was always a Craig Gordon fan, I thought he was absolutely outstanding in a Scotland jersey.

“When you look back, he almost won games single-handedly. But Allan McGregor has taken it upon himself to take on that mantle with the saves he has made.

“I think Craig Gordon is a wonderful goalkeeper but, at this moment in time, Allan McGregor is ahead of him. He is in super form.

“He’s not only doing everything that’s asked of him, he is also making that save that wins you games. Although he lost a bad goal in the last game against Denmark, he had three or four fantastic saves that probably won us the game.

“When you play international football you don’t get a lot to do but, when you are asked to make that save, you’ve got to be up for it. Allan McGregor has certainly been up for everything that has been asked of him with Rangers and Scotland.”

However, Rough believes the competition that will be provided by a fully-fit Gordon can only benefit Scotland, even though McGregor has the edge for now. He added: “Craig Gordon was saying in an interview a couple of weeks ago that he still believes in his mind that he’s still the number one – and you do have to be positive.

“He will know deep down that, at this moment, Allan McGregor is the number one and he will have to come back and start playing first-team football, he will have to put pressure on Allan McGregor.

“There is no doubt that, when you’ve got two goalkeepers who want that position, it can make you step up a bit. But, as it is just now, I don’t think Allan McGregor has to do anything.”

The impending Euro 2012 qualifying double-header has come too soon for Gordon, with McGregor set to be between the sticks for Saturday’s crucial clash with the Czech Republic at Hampden and the midweek meeting with Lithuania.

Scotland and the Czechs are both vying to finish runners-up to Group I leaders Spain and secure a play-off spot. And, although Rough believes Levein’s men head into the pressure match in fine form, he knows defeat this weekend would be a major blow.

He said: “We are in better shape than we have been for a while. We’ve got a very large squad and there is a lot of quality in there. All we need to do is just get the best XI on the park and, hopefully, on the night we can rise to the occasion. There will be a lot of pressure going into the game on Saturday and everybody will be hoping we can get a result.

“I don’t think we can lose the game. If we draw, we are then relying on everyone else. If we win it, it’s certainly in our own hands with the Lithuania game coming up.

“All the pressure would be on the Czechs and it just takes the pressure off Scotland if we do win this game and then beat Lithuania.

“Once you get a couple of wins under the belt, the whole nation gets behind you and the players are lifted. It’s one of the biggest games we’ve had for a long time.”

l Alan Rough was speaking at the launch of the Scotland National Team’s new iPhone App.