EVERYTHING TO PLAY FOR NOW
Treble-chasing Gordon does not regret turning down move to Chelsea
We’ve a chance here to be remembered for a long time
CRAIG GORDON insists the chance to make history as a Treble-winning Invincible means he can have no regrets about not moving to Chelsea.
The 34-year-old keeper was targeted by the English champions in January, only for Brendan Rodgers to make it clear he would not be leaving Parkhead. Gordon then signed a new three-year contract in March and is relishing the bid to complete a domestic clean sweep in tomorrow’s Scottish Cup final.
Chelsea were presented with the Premier League trophy last Sunday, just a few hours after Celtic paraded its Scottish equivalent having come through an unbeaten campaign. Asked if any part of him had wondered how it would have felt to be part of the celebrations at Stamford Bridge, Gordon replied: ‘No, not really. That was what happened and you move on and play. They picked up the trophy. The chances are I might not have played many games in terms of achieving that.
‘Last Sunday, I walked out at Celtic Park to the show for the Lisbon Lions and the whole day was phenomenal, walking out and lifting the trophy. There would have been positives no matter what, so I’m quite happy whatever had happened. But Sunday was a good day and, hopefully, we can have some more.’
Defeating Aberdeen at Hampden would deliver Celtic’s first Treble since 2001 and mean Rodgers’ men had negotiated every Scottish competition without defeat.
‘You never think you’re going to do that in a career — at any level in any league,’ said Gordon. ‘The opportunity to do that now is enormous and it would be remembered for a very long time. But, at the same time, we have to concentrate on this game.
‘If we start looking beyond that at records and things that could be said in the future about this team, it won’t matter if we don’t win the game.
‘We can’t think too far ahead. We have to stay in the moment and, if we prepare as we have been for every game, we’ll do all right.
‘If we didn’t win the final, it would take a bit of getting over. But we have an incredible opportunity to make sure that’s not the case.’
History tells Gordon to be wary of the underdog’s bite. Aberdeen are 6/1 outsiders but he is keenly aware of how easily expectation can turn to anxiety on Scottish Cup final day.
His one success in this competition was only claimed after being dragged the full distance by a club no longer in existence in senior football. While the ‘fairy tale’ of Gretna FC was later debunked by their subsequent financial collapse, it still seemed magical on the afternoon of May 13, 2006.
The first-ever side from the third tier to reach the final, Gretna faced a Hearts team which had just split the Old Firm to secure a place in the Champions League qualifiers. The gulf appeared far more obvious than the one between tomorrow’s combatants. But predictions of a mismatch were woefully misplaced.
Tied 1-1 after 120 minutes, Gordon was thrust centre-stage in a penalty shoot-out. A save from Derek Townsley gave Hearts the advantage before Gavin Skelton’s effort hit the bar to seal Gretna’s fate.
Gordon still grins at the memory of jubilation and relief. He would be thrilled if success tomorrow was a little more straightforward.
‘I’ve not been involved in too many shoot-outs, thankfully,’ he said. ‘I remember their goal during the match came from a penalty, which I saved before they scored from the rebound.
‘I was confident I might be able to come up with one or two more in the shoot-out. I saved one and the other one, from Skelton, clipped the top of the bar. That was the decisive one and meant we’d won the cup.
‘I remember hearing the ball hitting the bar and running away celebrating. At no stage did I look behind me to see if the ball had rebounded down into the goal! Instinct told me it was too high but that could have been an embarrassing moment!
‘The Hearts fans filled three-quarters of the stadium that day, so I could have run anywhere and been celebrating in front of them. I’d dived to my right, so I just kept going. Even though I didn’t touch the ball, you wouldn’t have thought so from my celebration.
‘There were some really good penalties from our guys in the shoot-out, four out of four from those who stepped up. Some you wouldn’t normally expect to take a penalty, like Steven Pressley and Robbie Neilson. But it was a day for big characters.’
Will Gordon prepare for Hampden by brushing up on Aberdeen’s potential penalty takers?
‘You can do but you never know what’s going to happen,’ he said. ‘A lot of what has happened in the game can dictate what happens to players and where other penalties have gone. So it’s difficult to get a real read on exactly where players like to go because it’s slightly different from open play.
‘There are other penalties getting taken beforehand and other things on their minds, so it’s more intuition and trying to decide what they’re going to do.
‘I’ve never taken a penalty myself but you never know. Hopefully, it doesn’t get that far.’
A nail-biting finale was never on the cards when the clubs last met at Hampden in November. From the 16th minute when Tom Rogic fired a shot into the corner of the net, Rodgers’ side were assured of claiming the League Cup.
Further goals from James Forrest and Moussa Dembele brushed aside a limp Aberdeen. While the two subsequent contests have unquestionably been tighter, the blunt fact is Celtic have won all five meetings this term.
‘We played really well in the League Cup final,’ said Gordon. ‘That was probably our best performance against them because the other matches have been difficult.
‘We’ve had to endure spells of pressure because they are a good team and they create chances. We’re going to have to defend well and play our game to make sure we win it.’