CRAIG Gordon played through the pain barrier as Celtic made history at Hampden on Saturday then insisted the only way he would have missed the occasion would have been if someone had chopped his legs off.

The Scotland goalkeeper was a pre-match doubt for the season-ending showpiece having missed the final three games of the Parkhead side’s league season with a knee injury.

Legacy of serious knee injuries or not, Brendan Rodgers pitched the veteran back into battle at Mount Florida and was rewarded with precisely the kind of composed display which makes him so important to the club.

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“I was struggling a bit - but you would have needed to chop my legs off to stop me playing,” said Gordon. “It was still pretty sore during the game but I managed to get through it - and now I’ve got four weeks off. I knew that I could get through a game but you know, it’s not easy to leave me out for the three games leading into the final, then have the faith to put me back in when it really mattered. But he did. And I’m thankful to him for that. With another clean sheet, hopefully that repaid him.”

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How long can Gordon carry on playing at this level? Well, he has two years left on this contract, and all going well he could stay even longer. “Gianluigi Buffon has just left Juventus at 40,” said Gordon. “I’ve still got a wee bit to go if I want to catch him up. But you never know. As long as I’m fit enough to keep contributing to this team, keep playing in such a successful team, then I’ll go into next season and try to do the same again. I’ve still got two years left on this contract and I want to go on as long as possible. If my body’s OK, I’ll go on well beyond that.”

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Gordon admits it won’t take long to focus on make it a treble treble. ‘We do set the bar high. We’ll celebrate this one, then get together in pre-season and set our aims to go again. You do get greedy for success. But the guys in there know how much this has taken. I can’t see it being done again – not for a very long time.