Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
GORD HELP HOOPS
Latchford fears spurned keeper will break Parkhead Hearts
CELTIC failed to offer Craig Gordon the contract he wanted to extend his Parkhead stay and he’ll be out to make them pay the ultimate price.
The veteran Hearts keeper will face his f ormer club i n next month’s Scottish Cup Final after a man-of-the- match display in the semi-final win against capital rivals Hibs.
Now he could block the Hoops’ path to a quadruple treble months after ending his six-year stay in the east end of
Glasgow when he rejected a new contract on reduced wages.
Gordon returned to his first love Hearts in a bid to help them win promotion back to the top flight but in a twist of fate will face his old t eam-mat e s at Hampden on December 20 in the delayed showpiece.
Af t e r failing to reach an agreement with the shot-stopper who will celebrate his 38th birthday a month after the Final, Celtic also l ost out on l ast season’s No1 Fraser Forster. Neil Lennon, inset, signed £5million Vasilis Barkas but he has lost his place to Scott Bain after a struggling start.
Peter Latchford made almost 300 Celtic appearances in a dozen years at Parkhead and later coached Gordon when he broke into the Hearts top team in his first spell in Gorgie under Craig Levein.
The 68-year-old knew the first time he saw him in action he’d be a top keeper and believes Celtic’s decision to let him go could return to haunt them.
He said: “Craig will run out at Hampden determined to show Celtic they were wrong. Clubs let p l aye r s g o that mayb e they shouldn’t have and it comes back to bite them on the bum.
“But they did let him go and the game moves on and he’s moved on. But it won’t stop him being an outstanding goalkeeper. He won’t go out and say ‘Ah well it’s Celtic, I think I’ll let a few in today’ – not in a month of Sundays.
“He will do everything in his power and use everything in his locker to try to keep them out to win for Hearts.”
Latchford added: “It’s a twist of fate they ’re playing Celtic but football throws up scenarios like this all the time. If the negotiations had been more favourable he could have been in the Celtic end because there’s no doubt he’d have been number one.
“He’s a v a st ly e x p e r i e n c e d goalkeeper but fate has it that he’ll be at the other end and he could be the guy that ends this incredible trophy run for Celtic. It’s sod’s law.
“Celtic made their decision and once you do that you stick with it.”