Being dropped was tough enough... then knee injury made me fear for my career
CRAIG GORDON feared his most recent knee injury might do what the last one couldn’t. Finish his career.
The Scotland keeper was out of action for two years and came close to retirement before resurrecting his career at Celtic.
dropped by Brendan Rodgers despite a strong individual performance in a 1-0 defeat to Rangers last december, the 36-year-old found an outlet for his anger on the training pitch.
To prove Rodgers wrong, he worked harder than ever. And eventually the hard toil took its toll on his good knee.
Speaking after his first Celtic start in seven months in the 2-0 win over nomme Kalju in Estonia on Tuesday, Gordon was forthright. Where his career was concerned, he feared the worst.
He explained: ‘When I first got the injury, my first thought was: “I’m in trouble here, definitely”.
‘There have been niggling doubts at various points since. Even during the hard work in pre-season, I would come off training and my knee would be sore with a lot of fluid in it.
‘I would have to go back and ice it up.
‘But it responded really well and I’ve taken part in more training sessions than I maybe thought I would be able to. And I feel in great shape because of that.’
Gordon makes no bones over how he felt when Rodgers broke the news that he was out of the team in december, to be replaced by Scott Bain.
one of the few Celtic players to earn pass marks in that defeat at Ibrox, there was shock and no little anger.
‘That took me a while to deal with,’ he admitted. ‘I felt I’d played a pretty good game that day.
‘So to then go out the team was tough. It was a few weeks to begin with, and then I got the injury not long after that.’
There was no puzzle in why Rodgers did what he did. The former Celtic boss expected his goalkeepers to play the ball from the back; to distribute the ball to outfield team-mates accurately and calmly and act as a starting point for attacking moves. Bain, he felt, could do that job better. ‘He first of all wanted to try Scott in a run of games,’ recalled Gordon. ‘It was something he’d never done, it was always the odd cup game here and there. It was never back-to-back games and he felt he wanted to do that. ‘He spoke to me during the winter break and said he was going to give him four or five games to look at what his options were in terms of goalkeepers. ‘I don’t think Scott lost a goal in the first few games. He went from strength to strength.
‘After a month or so, the manager came back to me and said he didn’t want to change it because the team was playing really well. So that was that.
‘So it was explained to me. I didn’t like it but that’s football. Scott did really well, so what I did then was try and work really hard to get back.’
Bain taking his starting place — for Celtic and Scotland — was an insult. The injury was in the post.
‘I was coping with pain for the best part of 18 months. I was managing it and getting through games,’ said Gordon.
‘Then when I was out of the team, the rest of the boys seemed to train more in preparation for getting back into the team, and that’s when it was too much for me.’
If the departure of Rodgers for Leicester City came as a shock to Celtic supporters, it may yet prove a blessing for Gordon.
He plans to stay put at Parkhead and, while the last manager liked his keepers to play like Franco Baresi, neil Lennon’s demands are a little more traditional. He simply wants his goalkeepers to save the ball.
Making his first Celtic start of 2019 against Estonian champions nomme Kalju, Gordon had a comfortable night.
‘It was great to be back out there,’ he said. ‘It felt like it had been a long time.
‘It took me seven months to get back playing, so it was great to get my first 90 minutes in.
‘I hadn’t managed to do that in pre-season, so it felt good. It’s a big stepping stone for me, a big hurdle, and I was relatively happy with the way it went.
‘Being out for the length of time I was out was tough.
‘To be out of the team, whether it was the manager’s choice or you’re injured, it’s difficult to find the strength to come back again and show what you’re made of.
‘It’s been a challenge, I’m not going to lie. But finally I’m in a position now where I can start to compete again and give my best on the pitch when I’m chosen to play.
‘I just want to play as many games as I can.’
The Premiership season begins for Celtic with a home game against St Johnstone on Saturday. If Lennon knows who is playing in goal, he’s not for saying yet.
‘I feel in good shape and ready to play,’ added Gordon. ‘I feel I can put that pressure on the manager.
‘If he chooses Scott, then I’ll get behind that decision and we try and do the best we can as a team.
‘Signings happen all the time, right up until deadline day. But I just want to play here as much as I possibly can, until I’m told I’m no longer needed.
‘I’m ready to give everything I’ve got to play but so will Scott.
‘Whoever plays plays. We get on really well together in training, so there are never any bad words or animosity. We always support each other and that’s the way it’ll stay.
‘But I’m just happy to be back competing for a place. It’s a nice feeling after so long.’