Hearts still hopeful of signing Craig Gordon from Celtic despite Neil Lennon claims

Hearts remain hopeful of securing a return for Craig Gordon

With game time limited, and fed up with his spectating role the Scotland international, who is out of contract in the summer, has made it clear that he wants to exit the Parkhead club during this transfer, which closes tomorrow.

Former club Hearts are favourites to secure his services but the league leaders have applied the brakes, worried that his departure would leave them without sufficient quality back-up should anything happen to first choice keeper Fraser Forster.

• READ MORE - Celtic boss Neil Lennon speaks on Ntcham and Gordon transfer linksDetermined to make it nine titles in a row and seeking to maintain their grip on all domestic silverware, as well as harbouring European ambitions, it is a risk the Celtic boss Neil Lennon does not want to take.

But with only five months left on his current contract and no likelihood of an extension, the situation is said to be frustrating the 37-year-old keeper, who is appealing for understanding and hoping the club can enlist alternative cover, allowing him to kickstart his career elsewhere.

Currently understudy to on-loan Forster, he knows that Scott Bain, who signed an extension to his contract in October, is likely to move back ahead of him when he returns to fitness and, with Scotland still hopeful of qualifying for Euro 2020, he is well aware that he needs to be playing if he wants to impress Scotland manager Steve Clarke and book his place in his squad.

Hearts would offer him the chance to do that, with manager Daniel Stendel keen to improve his goalkeeping options.

Currently, Hearts are relying on Manchester United loanee Joel Pereira, who is preferred to Zdenek Zlamal and Colin Doyle - with the latter having been told he is free to leave Gorgie - but, despite two clean sheets in his last three games, the risk-taking 23-year-old 'keeper has rarely looked totally convincing.

It is understood Gordon is desperate to engineer a move back to the club where he started his professional career, coming through the youth ranks before making his first-team debut in 2002 and pulling off the kind of performances that earned him a place in the Scotland fold and a record £9 million move to Sunderland in 2007.

The Tynecastle club could wait and try to land him in the summer but their precarious position at the foot of the table means they are anxious to strengthen now as they look to build on their victory over Rangers and climb up the Premiership table.