Craig Gordon on extending his Hearts stay and milestones to hit

The 41-year-old goalkeeper was asked about what convinced him to commit his future to the club, his aspirations before retirement, and the personal milestones he has in his sights. 

Here's everything the Hearts legend had to say.

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Are you excited to keep your Hearts career going?

Yeah, I feel good. There is no reason not to extend and take it into next season. Happy that it's been done. It was very quick, very straightforward and concentrating on playing.

The time you missed with your injury, can that be added onto the other end?

I'm trying! Who knows. I can't guarantee that. Maybe I could have done it even playing in that period of time. Or maybe not. Maybe that is the reason why I still feel good and still feel able to compete at this level. Maybe it is a possibility that could be the case. I'm enjoying and still very grateful I am here at this age.

Did the injury change any plans you may have had to call it a day, giving you extra hunger and desire to keep going longer? Or were you always going to wait and see how you feel at the end of each season?

I had never had any thoughts about putting an end date on anything. Just keep going as long as I feel able to. You get the feeling when you are out on the training pitch and you are still contributing and still doing well in the small-sided games, as a player you can tell when you start to let yourself down in those situations. I've not. I've felt good. I feel as I am training well so it was an easy enough decision to keep it going.

Will that be a big thing going forward, assessing it each season and making it a one-year deal at a time?

Yeah, just concentrating on playing and seeing how far it can take me. No real thoughts beyond the end of that. I think at this stage each season could be the last. That's a nice thing to have in your mind as well. It certainly keeps me focused and keeps me preparing for each game, pushing hard in training and in the gym and all the things you do off the pitch. It certainly keeps you focused knowing that you have always got that one year that you have to be on top of things, especially at this age. If I start to let anything slide on the training side of things then people are going to notice.

Is there a feeling of - why should you put a limit on it?

Absolutely. There is no limit. There never will be but there will come a day when enough is enough. 

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It could be 50 for you if you wanted?

We'll see about that! I'll probably say that is definitely not happening. Who knows. One year at a time, let's see how it goes and we'll take it from there.

Was there much negotiating to be done on the new contract? Did you do it yourself?

I spoke to Joe [Savage] a couple of times. It was very quick. There were a couple of texts, he sent the contract over and then I signed it. I signed it on the bus up to St Johnstone and sent it back to him, and that was it. It was very straightforward – I wanted to sign and I wanted to stay here.

Have you ever signed a contract on a bus before?

No, that was a first. Probably changed days. Signing in 1999, you sat there with your pen, I don’t think there was the facility to e-sign it and send it back. It’s changed days, but there’s probably lots of things in football and life that have changed since back then!

How did you feel physically and mentally after the Spartans game?

Absolutely fine. No problem. I had played 90 minutes before at B Team level in a game against Rangers, I’d played other 45 minutes here [Oriam] in different games, so I was confident I would be able to get through the 90 minutes and feel good and train with the guys a couple of days later as anyone would. So there’s no real limitations there. No soreness. It doesn’t feel anything at all. Normal and how I felt before.

You could have gone elsewhere to guarantee games, so what was it that made you stay here?

I’ve been happy here. I still feel I have an awful lot to offer and that’s only the playing side, so focused on that and playing as many games as I can.

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Steve Clarke has been talking about Robert Lewandowski and Cristiano Ronaldo not retiring, but they are pups compared to you?

I remember when we qualified for the Nations League Group A after the draw with Ukraine and saying to the boys in the dressing room that I would try my very best to be playing and be part of that squad that was taking on some of the biggest teams in Europe. They say, ‘yeah you will probably still be here’ because things were going quite well, pre-injury. But I still feel that’s a possibility and what I will be working towards for the next few months and make sure I give myself that opportunity.

Both Hearts and Scotland are flying just now, do you feel that there is still so much to achieve?

Absolutely. That’s football. There’s always opportunities. For Hearts, we’re doing well in the league at the moment and, if we can qualify for Europe for the third season in a row, that’s very good compared to where the club has finished historically over the past 40/50/60 years or so. To go third, fourth and to go for third again, if we can manage that, that is a real stable period for any club in Scotland outwith Rangers and Celtic and shows what we are trying to achieve. To be consistent and entering European football every year - I don’t think Hearts have done that three years in a row before, maybe ever? It is heading in the right direction and I want to be part of that. Also the opportunities coming with Scotland, the Euros coming up, even the games coming up in March, that’s something I can still try and aim for. I want to play games between now and then and hopefully get back in the manager’s thoughts for a place in that squad as soon as possible.

With that need to play games, did you ever consider seeking a loan move elsewhere?

Gov [Michael McGovern] went on loan so we couldn’t loan two goalies! I’m happy here. I still think I have an opportunity to play a good number of games. I want to start playing as soon as possible and try and keep that position. From my point of view it’s about training as well as I can to keep putting that pressure on to stay in the manager’s thoughts. That’s my side of it and that’s what I need to do.

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On a personal note, what are the next milestones you have in your sights?

The Celtic game on March 3 will be 23 years since I first appeared in a Hearts squad at Ibrox, March 3 2001. That’s the next one. I don’t know what the next one after that is but I’ll figure it out after that!

There’s also the potential of European football next season as well?

Yep. If I play one more game in Europe I would break the record and hold the most appearances for Hearts. I’m aware of these things. There are always things to strive for. Any little thing you can use to motivate yourself to push on to the next level. It’s 25 years since I signed here, you have to move with the times and look for the next thing. And I’ll always look for something to aim for to try and achieve.