Gordon eyes new horizons

ALEX O'HENLEY

CRAIG Gordon has revealed that he wants to follow in the footsteps of former Celtic midfielder Paul Lambert by playing for a top European side. The 22-year-old is out of contract at the end of next season and his mature performances for Hearts and Scotland have already attracted the attention of a number of European clubs, with Italian Serie A side Palermo registering their interest last week. Hearts chairman George Foulkes attempted to swat away that early signal of intent by placing a £5m price tag on the young goalkeeper's head, but while Gordon is in no rush to leave Tynecastle he has admitted that a move to one of Europe's top leagues is something that appeals to him.

"It's the big leagues in the world that you want to play in and with all due respect to the Scottish Premierleague, it's not the same as the Premiership, Serie A or La Liga," he says. "They are all massive leagues with big, big teams that you play week in, week out. It's something that young players look to and it would be nice to go and test yourself against some of the best players in the world who play in those leagues.

"I think it would also help to raise the profile of Scottish football a wee bit if we had more players operating at that level. We've had a few in the past, guys like Joe Jordan and Graeme Souness who did well in Italy, but in recent years Paul Lambert's probably the only one who has gone abroad and done exceptionally well for himself [at Borussia Dortmund]. So, these are opportunities you would have to seriously think about if they came along, but for the moment I am fully concentrated on doing my job for Hearts."

Those last few words will come as a reassurance for Hearts supporters who might be worried that one of their prime assets is about to walk out the door and they will be further relieved to hear that Gordon has plenty of ambitions he intends to fulfil at Tynecastle before thinking about pastures new. Although disappointed at having missed out on what would have been his 100th consecutive appearance against Celtic yesterday due to his sending-off against Falkirk a fortnight ago, he is confident that Hearts will go the distance in this year's SPL title race and is even prepared to contemplate the possibility of Champions League football next season.

"It would be a dream come true if we could manage to get into the Champions League," Gordon added. "It will be exceptionally difficult but you never know. We have a chance and we've started well and put ourselves in a position where people are asking about the possibility of Champions League football. It's a bit early after nine or 10 games but if we get to 19 or 20 and we're still in the same position, then it's something that would come into the reckoning and it would be great for the club as a whole to play on that stage."

Gordon claims the arrival of George Burley as manager, coupled with the financial backing of Lithuanian businessman Vladimir Romanov has given the players the confidence that Hearts can challenge and ultimately overcome the Old Firm as the dominant force in Scottish football. The debate might rumble on as to which of those two is actually pulling the strings at Tynecastle, but the keeper has been impressed by the individual qualities that both men have brought to the club.

"Mr Romanov has a meeting with the players now and again," he says. "I've met him two or three times now and it's clear he wants to win the league and he's going to put the money and players in to do that. He's very confident. Whether he can do it this season remains to be seen but his ambition is to win things with Hearts and hopefully we can do that for him.

"The manager has given a lot of confidence to the boys, not only those he has brought in but those who were there already like myself. He's also given us the belief that we can go to any away ground in Scotland and win; that you can go on these unbeaten runs and maintain the standard of performance over a period of time. Over the past few years we've been to Ibrox and Parkhead and won, so it doesn't hold any fears for us anymore, certainly not as much as it did in previous seasons. You used to go there trying to limit the score but those days are gone and we go to those grounds now looking for three points."

However, like his manager, Gordon is aware that reinforcements will be required during the January transfer window if Hearts are to maintain their title challenge. Wolves striker Kenny Miller has already been linked with a possible move to Tynecastle and Gordon admits he's been using Scotland get-togethers to convince the former Rangers and Hibs striker to move back to Edinburgh in the New Year.

"It would be a massive coup for the club to get someone like that on board and I've been bending his ear about it all this week," jokes Gordon. "Hopefully, if the money's there he'd be one of the players who would be a very good acquisition for us and I'm sure someone of that quality would fit in with the manager's plans. I'm sure he'll have other options open to him, but if we could get him that would give us a big push for the final part of the season. If we can keep the main Scottish guys and add a bit of quality, there's no reason why we can't be successful this season."

In a week when everyone and their auntie seems to have been apportioned a share of the blame for Scotland's failure to reach next year's World Cup, Gordon was also keen to mount a spirited defence for the much-maligned former coach Berti Vogts. The German is widely seen as the chief culprit after taking just two points from the opening three fixtures, but the Hearts goalkeeper claims that players like himself will be seen as Vogts' legacy and he's confident that Scotland will build on their impressive win in Slovenia by qualifying for the European Championships in 2008.

"He brought in Darren Fletcher, James McFadden, Andy Webster and myself, so now that we are all into double figures in caps you start to get that bit of experience," says Gordon. "Berti wasn't stupid. I think he knew it would take that time for players to come in and settle down. He was building for the future and you can see the fruits of that policy starting to come through now. I know he's been criticised for some of the results during his time in charge, but I think he's also done a lot of good for the country, especially for the young players coming through.

"Walter has come in and brought a lot of confidence to the players. We've been very organised and tried out a few formations that have worked for us. We now have a few options that everyone's comfortable with. He's given the players a lot of responsibility to sort things out and deal with situations on the park. As we showed against Italy we now have the players and the organisation to deal with the top teams and hopefully we can now take that form into the Euro 2008 campaign."

Having established himself as the No.1 keeper in a revitalised national side, it is clear Gordon has a bright future - but whether or not his future lies at Tynecastle remains to be seen.

Taken from the Scotsman