THE prospect of a match at Hampden might just produce a yawn for Craig Gordon.

The Celtic goalkeeper's recent history has included a match against Rangers where he did not field a shot, a cup final against Dundee United where he was not taxed and 45 minutes against Northern Ireland on Wednesday night when he could have worn a giant foam finger without compromising his clean sheet.

The match against Sunday offers Gordon the chance - if picked - to enjoy another outing at Hampden that requires the presence of an armchair rather than the ingestion of tranquillisers.

Gordon, once thought lost to the game through injury, is now a strong candidate to be Scotland's No.1, though David Marshall of Cardiff City must still entertain hopes of being between the posts.

Gordon can still remember his position when the minnows of Liechtenstein arrived at Hampden in September 2010 and survived until Stephen McManus won the game for Scotland with a header in the sixth minute of time added on.

"I was in a television studio that night," said Gordon. "That was a different life I had back then. Towards the end I was sitting there worried what I was going to say at full-time to defend the rest of the boys.

"So thankfully we managed to grind it out because I don't know what I would have said if we'd drawn that one. When Stephen scored I jumped out of my seat in the studio because it was hugely important to get that win.

"That night is a reminder of what can happen in any game of football."

This is timely given that Gibraltar turn up at Hampden with the sort of record that suggests Scotland, despite its inherent national flaws, can run up a score.

Gordon, perhaps in deference to struggles past, is still cautious.

"It can be difficult and at this level you don't want to lose a goal to give yourself an uphill task," he said.

"If you do that it can get edgy so we're well aware of the need for a fast start and a good tempo so we can take care of things. These are the games we have to win and historically it hasn't been that easy for us. "

Quite.

Strachan will not tell his players the team until tomorrow but Gordon points out it will be an unusual role for whoever is picked in goal.

"It might be more of a sweeper role," he said. "I don't know what the manager will do in terms of setting the team up, but I think it will be important that if they play one up front and send the ball over the top then someone is there.

"We need to make sure the tempo remains high so you don't want to give them respite by the goalkeeper taking two and three touches. We need to make sure if they send the ball up the park it's coming straight back at them so they're not getting a break.

"The goalkeeper has a responsibility to keep the tempo of the game up and not a lot of people realise that."

Ikechi Anya might be crucial in Strachan's strategy to keep Gibraltar on the back foot. The Watford wide man even had a stint at full-back against Northern Ireland and his strengths suggest he could be vital in braking down the opposition.

Anya pointed out that he faced strong competition for a starting place but admitted, if selected, there would "a lot asked of me".

He added, though: "All of my life I've been that attacking player. I've dropped back a bit at Watford due to my wing-back role. I'm not someone who passes the buck, I like that responsibility and I try to live up to that."

Strachan will try to outpace and stretch the Gibraltar defence. Anya, who showed a breathtaking turn of foot and a poise to score against Germany in Dortmund, has the capability of being a gamechanger.

He would taken nothing for granted over Sunday but said: "We know the crowd may become a bit restless if we don't score early. It's no disrespect to them but our squad is superior to theirs."