CRAIG WILL BE WORLD'S NO1

STEVE BANKS can't wait for the day when he can say he used to work alongside the best goalkeeper in the world.

The English shot-stopper reckons it is no disgrace to be Craig Gordon's understudy at Tynecastle as he believes the Hearts No.1 is the second best keeper in the world behind Gianluigi Buffon.

The 34-year-old has seen enough of Scotland's first-choice keeper to convince himself that Gordon can emulate his childhood hero Buffon who will be a key player for Italy in tomorrow's World Cup Final.

Banks said: "Craig is one of the best keepers I have worked with. Now he is doing it at both club and international level and at 23 he has a long career ahead of him.

"If he works very hard and keeps performing to the best of his ability he can go to the very top.

"You would class Buffon as the best goalkeeper in the world. But he is 28 and Craig is still only 23. Craig might not have done what Buffon has but in goalkeeping terms I think you can almost talk of them as equals.

"Craig has got a good chance of one day being the best in the world.

"I only saw him last season but I think he's going all the way. If he has the same sort of year this time, more and more people are going to sit up and take notice of Craig and put him in the same bracket as the Italian.

"He's very cool. He rarely gets flustered, he is very tall and is quick for a big guy. He doesn't seem to get into situations he shouldn't and he is never caught in no-man's land making mistakes.

"It would be nice to think that one day I may look back in years to come and say of Craig, 'I played with him'.

"Who knows? I may even be his goalkeeping coach at the time as I have passed my badges."

Banks, who was given a rare outing in Hearts' pre-season friendly draw with Lask Linz as Gordon had a slight groin injury, should keep his place for tonight's game against Spartak Tvarna.

The Englishman played a mere two-and-a-half games last season due to Gordon's inspired form between the sticks.

And Banks insists Gordon's magnificent form was a major reason why Hearts won the Scottish Cup and eventually pipped Rangers for second place in the SPL.

He said: "I've never seen a keeper have as good a season as Craig did last term. He made one or two match-winning saves in every game.

"They say a good keeper is worth eight to 10 points a season but Craig surpassed that. He easily won Hearts 15 points or more.

"I had only two-and-a-bit games last season but they were against Celtic and Rangers so I couldn't ask for any more.

"Whenever I've played I feel I've done well and that puts a bit of pressure back on Craig to keep him on his toes. We get on really well so it works for us."

Banks is loving being part of Vladimir Romanov's revolution and gaining an insight into the jet-set lifestyle of the rich and famous.

He said: "This time last year I was at Gillingham and they had a new manager in Neale Cooper. He brought in a lot of Scottish players and I wasn't in his plans.

"We were playing away games against the likes of Ramsgate and Margate but Hearts' pre-season has been a fantastic experience.

"We've been to Monte Carlo and I've come to Austria as back-up to Craig and hopefully he appreciates what I've done.

"It was a good year for me and I hope that this season is even better."

Taken from the Daily Record