Gordon sure Souttar can keep his focus

HEARTS captain Craig Gordon insists John Souttar will not allow the intense speculation over his future to affect his performances on the pitch.

Souttar is wanted by a host of clubs south of the border as he enters the final six months of his deal at Tynecastle, while Celtic and Rangers have also been credited with an interest in the centre-half.

Gordon believes the 25-year-old is back to his best after returning from a third ruptured Achilles injury in April, with Souttar even marking a return to the Scotland set-up with a goal in the recent World Cup qualifying win over Denmark.

But Scotland No.1 Gordon is adamant that Souttar’s displays will not suffer as he weighs up his future.

Gordon said: “I don’t think he’ll be affected by it. He is very positive and very upbeat all the time – a real good character in the changing room. For him I’m sure he will carry on.

“He is a good leader as well, I can definitely see him captaining teams in the future. I’m sure he’s going to be fine. I don’t exactly know what the situation is, what the options are, what is on the table. I’m obviously not party to that. He will make a decision for what is right for him.

Souttar did not play for Scotland for three years due to injury problems and former Celtic and Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon can relate to the defender’s woes after he came close to retiring due to a two-year absence from the game with a knee injury.

He added: “There’s similarities. Probably in some ways quite similar characters in what we’re like.

“He is a good player on the pitch, he’s got great strength not only his defending but also the mentality he’s shown over the last couple of years. I think he’ll go from strength to strength from here.

“We have come from similar paths in terms of bad injuries and hopefully he can play for many years.”