CRAIG GORDON is determined to prove he can be Celtic’s 11th outfield player and at the same time keep his place in the team ahead of new rival Dorus de Vries.
Brendan Rodgers does not just want his goalkeepers to makes saves, although while the role has changed that remit remains something of a priority. The Celtic manager likes his last man to be able to play a pass, come out and help his back four and use both feet to get the ball into a team-mate. The days of lumping it up the park are over while the Northern Irishman is in charge.
Gordon is actually better at this than most. He is naturally left footed and yet can shift the ball to either side. There are some strikers incapable of this. He also is calm whenever he has the ball at his feet and some opponent is charging in on him.
So far so good, except the current Celtic No1 was beaten at his near post for Hapoel Be’er Sheva’s first goal on Wednesday, second only to allowing a shot through the legs in things a goalie hates, and he has been at least partly at fault for a couple of others so far this season.
De Vries might be 35 and his CV is not as impressive as the man he hopes, and believes, he can replace. However, it is worth pointing out that you would be hard pressed to find a former team-mate not gushing in their praise for the Dutchman’s ability to handle and pass a football.
Gordon, for the moment, is the man in possession of the jersey and is happy to do whatever it takes for it to stay that way.
“The position has changed in the time I have been in the game and you have to adapt to stay at the top,” said the Scotland international.
“I certainly feel as if I can do it. It has been a step up this season in terms of getting involved with the outfield players but it is something I feel I can do, given the time and confidence in me to go out and do it.
“There are still teams who will play more long balls and want their goalkeepers to kick it into areas. But if you are at one of the bigger teams wanting to dominate possession, then it is something you are going to have to be able to do.”
A manager asking his keepers to be actual footballers is the end for some, with Joe Hart at Manchester City a prime example. Gordon, to his credit, has relished the challenge laid down to him by Rodgers.
He said: “I think I did alright against Hapoel. I feel as if I am becoming more and more comfortable with it.
“To a degree, I was asked to do that before under the previous manager. This is taking it a step further and it is slightly different in the way it is set up. But I definitely feel I can cope with it and do that job.”
Where Gordon may feel pressure is when De Vries gets himself fit because he is a favourite of Rodgers who worked with him at Swansea City and then tried to sign for Liverpool.
It would be a huge call for the manager to swap goalkeepers in the return leg against Hapoel next Tuesday in Israel – and De Vries might not be fit anyway – but Gordon is far from daft and will realise that nobody’s place is assured, as is the way it should be.
“I don’t feel under pressure, I just go out there and play,” he said. “The manager will make that call. I have to go out there, play my game, and do as well as I can and play the way the manager wants the team to play. If I can do that and play well, I will stay in the team. It’s as simple as that.
“I have spoken to Dorus a couple of times. He has been back doing a little bit of light training after his injury. I would probably have played against him when he was at Dunfermline. We both left the same summer to go down south.
“I hope it brings out more in me. I think we can work well together in training to push each other. But there is only one place at the end of the week for the game. That is just the goalkeeping position.
"I hope that it’s me and I can continue to play in this team this season, because it looks like a very exciting team to play in, and one that I’d love to continue playing with.”
It’s early days but Celtic have the makings of a team worth watching. Gordon knows this and it’s one of the reasons why he does not want to be sitting on the sidelines while his team-mates entertain.
He said: “At the moment, we have a lot of pace going forward and we are creating opportunities. We are closing down and getting the ball back in good areas. If you can do that, you are giving yourself a good opportunity to score goals.
‘We have created loads of chances and if we keep doing that we will give ourselves a chance of winning a lot of games.”
They did that on Wednesday and the 5-2 scoreline should be more than enough to take Celtic into the group stages of the Champions League.
Gordon's has waited his entire career to play in the Champions League. At 33, he is not going to allow this opportunity to pass him by. So to that end, he will keep practicing his passes.
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