Jambos case has left keeper MacDonald in limbo

rather than anything being in the pipeline.

He said: “You look at all options but it has been well publicised that I got offered a contract at Kilmarnock and turned it down.

“I live in Edinburgh, my wife has a business here and my kids are at school. It’s not as easy as just flitting away as people would say, ‘why do they not just move?’ but it’s not that simple.

“I was asked the question if I would go back to Hearts and the obvious answer was ‘yes’. I don’t think there was any discussions with Hearts in that way. They’ve been after Craig since January and he’s been their top target.

“There was nothing really in that and nothing behind me saying it.”

With one Edinburgh club ruled out, what about crossing the divide to rivals Hibs if it suited the MacDonald family?

He chuckled and said: “You never say never in football.

“It’s a job and you need to look at it that way as well. There’s lots of different things. At 34 the good thing about me being a goalie is I’ve still got plenty of years left.

“As Craig said and he’s got a few years on me, he thinks he’s still got a good two or three years left and I’m the same.”

Despite the age gap, Gordon and MacDonald were close as Hearts team-mates after first becoming acquainted when the latter was still at school.

And while Gordon’s quality between the sticks speaks for itself, MacDonald knows how good he’ll be for the younger keepers on the books.

He said: “It’s a great move for all parties. Hearts are getting a top-class keeper in Craig. He’s a big Hearts fan too so he’s going back to his boyhood club.

“I’ve known Craig a long time, since I was about 14 or 15. He’s a few years older than me but he was a big part of my growing up at Hearts.

“I got very close to him and I still speak to him to this day. He is a great guy and a great professional.”