SUCCESS hasn't gone to Craig Gordon's head. It's almost three years since he made his Hearts first-team debut but the time between that match at Livingston and next weekend's league opener away to Kilmarnock has been utilised wisely.

International honours now amount to eight full caps, and he has performed heroics on UEFA Cup duty at club level as well. Even the bread-and-butter domestic matches have been flavoured with jam. His career on a consistently upward trajectory, he is now comfortable in his role as Hearts' and Scotland's first-choice goalkeeper. But while his stock has soared, his feet have remained planted on terra firma.

The increasingly impressive CV often masks the fact that the custodian of the Tynecastle goal is still little more than a boy but if the achievements and wisdom suggest someone older, the features are undoubtedly those of a 22-year-old, as too is the endearing enthusiasm he reserves for his football heroes.

"In goalkeeping terms, it's guys like [Iker] Casillas and [Gianluigi] Buffon," he says as he takes a break from a double session of pre-season graft, "and I've been fortunate enough to play against both of them. I saw Casillas in the European Cup final at Hampden when he came off the bench and played magnificently well and he's hardly missed a game for Real Madrid since. They're two of the top-class keepers in the world and to manage to play against these guys and get their shirts is amazing."

As he waxes lyrical about the fact that he is mixing in illustrious circles these days, the temptation to accuse him teasingly of name-dropping grows, but he heads it off with a well-timed dollop of self-deprecation. "Being honest, I'm still like a wee boy desperate to get their shirts and when I get it I'm like 'Whoa, I've got their shirt'. I've got their shirts framed but I don't know what they use mine for. I very much doubt they've framed it! They are the top guys. I aspire to be like them, although, to reach half the level they've reached in their careers so far - and they are both still quite young for the amount of caps they have between them - then that's still definitely something to aspire to."

But Gordon is not short on aspirations. And although he remains the polite, softly spoken lad he was when he first broke on to the scene, he claims he no longer has any qualms about verbalising his wants. He reveals he wants Hearts to get back into Europe, he wants to regain the ascendency in the capital, he wants to impress new manager George Burley enough to ensure he holds on to both the Hearts and Scotland No.1 shirt and, most of all, he wants to improve personally. On the field, he demands high standards and if he doesn't get that from his defence, he now demands answers.

"I suppose I'm more confident now than when I first came into the team. I can take on more responsibility. Before, I might have been a wee bit daunted playing with the likes of Steven Pressley and Andy Webster because they had been in the team for quite a considerable time before I got my chance, but now the three of us fight like cats and dogs! It's just the way we are, we don't like to lose goals or make mistakes but I think because we're like that we bring the best out in each other. I can take part in that a bit more than I used to. Even this morning in training, me and Elvis were having a go at each other and that is just in training, before a friendly."

He denies the tongue-in-cheek suggestion that he is simply feeling a bit braver now that the club captain is advancing in years and possibly easier to beat should the verbals turn physical. "Em, I'm not too sure about that. I think I'd just pull his hair," he laughs. "No, seriously, it's all forgotten about straight away and all good fun afterwards. We still had lunch together."

A guy who admits to watching very little football on television, claiming there are times he would opt for Coronation Street instead of a game - "although, it depends who is playing" - there is greater depth to Gordon than some of his peers.

"There are a lot of guys in there," he says indicating the dressing room, "who will watch absolutely every bit of football on television, and I'm not saying that's wrong but I don't. It's my work. I love football but at the end of the day it is my job so I prefer to switch off from that sometimes."

He does that with the odd round of golf, which he describes as the most frustrating of sports. Its endless capacity to infuriate negates all hopes that the pastime will prove a path to relaxation, but he agrees it probably does make him mentally stronger. Stopping himself cracking one or other of his clubs over his knee helps hone his levels of tolerance and, with countless ups and downs throughout a single round, the ability to wipe those highs and lows from the mind as the next shot is taken can be translated into football.

"I try to let things happen the way they happen and try not to analyse them too much. It's difficult if you think you've made a mistake not to go home and think about it all night but you have to try to let it go and concentrate on the next game. There's going to be mistakes made throughout the season by every goalie in the league so you've got to take it on the chin, realise you made the mistake but then get back out there and not let it bother you or let it affect the performance."

But mistakes are not commonplace in the Gordon box. New gaffer Burley is seeking to install new faces in defence, midfield and attack before the real action gets underway but has quickly realised that the goalkeeping position does not require alteration. The manager has been clear in his desire to build his new team on the solid foundation offered by his international quartet of Gordon, Pressley, Webster and Paul Hartley.

A settled squad and an end to the off-field chaos which has clouded his previous seasons at the club is Gordon's idea of nirvana. He claims that the endless demonstrating and boardroom wrangles finally caught up with the players last year. "I think we did well to block it out for as long as we had but last year it was getting more difficult. It wasn't an excuse but it did become more difficult. We don't have a clock at Tynecastle but all the players knew when there was 15 minutes left in each half because the demonstrations were co-ordinated and when I heard them start up I knew I had to either get the ball upfield quickly or waste a bit of time, depending on the score at the time!" The young keeper does not criticise the fans, though. It's not so long ago that he was one of their ranks. Some players describe personal appearances in the same gloomy tones normally reserved for court appearances or Sunday dinner with the in-laws, but Gordon recognises their worth. He remembers one particular boys' club presentation night when Gary Locke turned up to hand over the trophies and sign autographs - and he remembers how much it meant to him.

But, more than an autograph or a few moments of his time, he knows the fans crave a return to the form which secured them back-to-back third places, UEFA Cup nights and bragging rights over their city rivals. He shares their wish.

He makes no promises but he is determined. By the end of the season, what he considers normality will be restored. He is enthusiastic about the new era dawning in Gorgie and confident that it can reap the required rewards. Just as all his personal success has failed to throw Gordon off kilter, so too has last season's dip.

JIM DUFFY'S VERDICT

Strengths and weaknesses: This is a completely open book. The fact that players are coming in from all over the place will be one of the weaknesses as players very rarely click straight away, especially when there is the language barrier and you never know how they will settle. Hearts have also lost a number of the more experienced guys in the squad, but, on the plus side, George Burley seems to have been given a bit of money to spend by the new owners and he can bring in quality to mesh in with the core of first-team players they still have there. They need to ensure that a couple of the new signings are strikers, as they are threadbare in that department, but the strength is the fact they already have a strong defence with Craig Gordon, Steven Pressley and Andy Webster providing a nucleus of Scotland internationals. In front of them, Paul Hartley is another influential player and if they hold on to these guys then they will finish at the right end of the table.

Ins: Rudi Skacel

Outs: Tepi Moilanen, Kevin McKenna, Phil Stamp, Ramon Pereira, Patrick Kisnorbo, Neil Janczyk, Conall Murtagh, Ryan Kennedy, Ryan Gay.

Key man: Steven Pressley. He knows what it's about and he's the guy the players totally respect and look up to. A leader who talks and organises those around him.

Manager: George Burley is an experienced manager with the financial backing of the owner. He is at a bit of a disadvantage in that he doesn't have a lot of time to get players in and working as an effective unit before the season kicks off, but he will be given both time and resources to build his team and impose his own style. A manager who likes football to be played a certain way, his teams should be more attractive to watch. With both George and Tony adhering to a certain football philosophy, Edinburgh will be the place to go if you like attractive football.

Soundtrack to season: Surely, it has to be Maroon Five!

Finishing position: Fifth. A lot will depend on who George brings in and how they all adapt to the SPL, so it could be a place or two higher, but the fact so many players will have to gel could affect consistency and might cost them over the course of a season. They may need another year.

Taken from the Scotsman