Craig Gordon sets his sights on playing into his 40s after signing new Celtic deal

Not content with that, Gordon believes that he will be on the look-out for another one when the months tick down on his improved new deal with Celtic.

Read more: Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers calls for transfer window for managers and admits even treble won't spare him from the sack

"I can play for a few more years beyond the current contract,” smiled the Scotland internationalist. "Gianluigi Buffon has shown you can play for a long time as a keeper. Mark Schwarzer was also playing in the Champions League for Chelsea at 40/41. Brad Friedel and Edwin van der Sar both played for a long time.

"Buffon is a couple of years older than me but he will go on until he's 40. Hopefully I can do that as well. It's doable. We have good facilities at Celtic that are getting better all the time.

"We have the sport science staff who look after you really well and that side of things is fantastic here. We have the opportunity to look after our bodies better than before and push those boundaries back.”

It was believed that Gordon was irked in January when Celtic held firm in the face of interest from the current English Premier League leaders. Yet, where others may have felt a temptation to agitate their way out of the club – and it is not every day a club of Chelsea’ stature come calling for a 34-year-old – Gordon retained his composure and integrity.

For a player who lost two years of his professional career to injury, it seems inevitable that there would have been a seductive allure about the Chelsea move. The Stamford Bridge side sought a replacement for Asmir Begovic, their number two who was wanted by Bournemouth, although the pull would have grown amidst the incessant speculation regarding current number Chelsea number one Thibaut Courtois going to Real Madris this summer. In any case, Gordon kept his focus and insisted that much of that was down to the fact there was no decision for him to make.

"I could have made a big fuss about it and players have done that by coming out publicly to force it through,” he said. "But I am not that type of person. Irrespective of that, the club wanted to keep me and I was happy to stay. I could have done, but that’s not really me. It wouldn’t have got me very far. You just get on with it.

Read more: Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers calls for transfer window for managers and admits even treble won't spare him from the sack

“I knew early on that the bids weren't accepted and the manager or club weren't going to accept it. It was attractive, but at the same time, there was a lot going for the option to stay. As I didn’t ever have to make that decision, it never got to that point where I had to weigh it up one against the other.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers effectively staked his own reputation on the goalkeeper’s situation when he maintained vociferously that the player would not be leaving the club, and Gordon admitted that he was at the door of the Parkhead manager almost on a daily basis.

Having dropped Gordon earlier this term in favour of Dorus de Vries, there may have been some reluctance on the goalkeeper’s part to retain faith in the Celtic manager, yet it is clear that the Scotland keeper has firmly earned himself the first choice shirt at the club. As contract negotiations went to-and-from between agent and club, the suspicion is too that Rodgers made it clear that Gordon is the goalkeeper he wanted between the sticks for Celtic’s UEFA Champions League qualifiers, games which come around before a competitive ball has been kicked.

“Everyone’s asking you about it and everyone wants to know what is happening and the reality is that you don’t really know,” said Gordon. “There’s no bid been accepted. There is a bid there but the player is pretty much in the dark until we are told a bid has been accepted and you then have the chance to go and talk.

“Everyone thinks that you’re lying to them when you tell them you don’t know what’s happening but really that was true. So it was hard to tell everyone that. People were looking at me and thinking ‘You’re at it. You know exactly what’s going on.

Read more: Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers calls for transfer window for managers and admits even treble won't spare him from the sack

“The manager has been brilliant, the whole time. He’s talked to me lots of times and is really good at talking to players and making sure everyone is all right. At one point, I think I was in his office every other day, talking about something or other. But he was great throughout the whole lot and even the negotiating of the contract, he helped out and made sure everything went smoothly.”

And now having secured his long-term future, Gordon will look to add to the gongs, individual and otherwise, that he has already won in his career. As it stands, Celtic are just two games away from a domestic Treble, something they have achieved just three times in their history.

“I’m playing,” he said. “There is no guarantee of playing games down there. I could have done, I might not have done. The fact I’m playing, winning, having the opportunity to play in the Champions League and winning those matches, I was desperate to do it. That’s why I came here in the first place. I’ve had a little taste of it and I’d love to get back there and have some more.”