Gordon back for Sunderland, but he's no longer the undisputed No 1

Mike Aitken
WHEN Craig Gordon returns to face Blackburn tonight for only his second appearance in three-and-a-half months, the most expensive goalkeeper in British football knows the opportunity to win back his place at Sunderland is a more pressing priority than re-establishing his credentials with Scotland before next month's World Cup qualifying tie against the Netherlands.
The former Hearts captain, who cost Sunderland £9million in 2007 when Roy Keane was manager, picked up his first serious injury in eight years when he fractured an ankle during a training session in October. It said much about Gordon's standing with Keane that the Irishman was so eager to hurry the Scot back into action that the club's management team took the rash step of rushing him to play against Bolton on 29 November.

It was too soon for the Scot, who not only conceded four goals in what was Keane's last game in charge but also aggravated the ankle injury to such an extent he has needed more than two months to regain full fitness. "It was unfair on Craig," acknowledged Ricky Sbragia, the Scot who was Sunderland's surprise choice to succeed the Irishman as manager. "It set him back nine or ten weeks for the sake of an extra week's recovery. We brought him back too early and we paid the penalty. That was a collective decision, I was part of that and I made a wrong decision."

After being on the treatment table for much of this season, Gordon only returned to training last month when he was careful to let the club's medical team monitor his progress and avoid any repetition of that costly misjudgment which set him back in November. "They kept an eye on me to make sure I wasn't going too fast," recalled the Scotland goalkeeper. "The last thing I wanted was for the injury to recur. When you are injured you feel isolated, it's not nice, but it happens in every player's career and I'm pleased I can put it all behind me now."

Although he is eager to prove his readiness in tonight's FA Cup fourth-round replay at Ewood Park, Gordon knows he has a fight on his hands in the weeks ahead to reclaim the club's No1 jersey. Sbragia, who expects to shuffle the pack against Blackburn, makes no bones about the fact his club's most significant engagement this week is against Stoke City.

"Craig should start the match (against Blackburn]," reported his compatriot. "He's been training solidly for a few days now and he's ready to return. There will be a few changes, the big game is against Stoke on Saturday. Having status in the Premier League is in the back of my mind all the time."

During Gordon's prolonged absence through injury, Hungarian goalkeeper Marton Fulop has established himself at Sunderland. With 18 appearances to Gordon's nine this season, the 6ft 5ins internationalist is the man in possession. One of five goalkeepers on the club's books – former Hibs goalkeeper Nick Colgan, Irish Under-21 internationalist Trevor Carson and Welsh internationalist Darren Ward are the others – Fulop has spent much of an itinerant career in England on loan to clubs such as Leicester, Stoke, Coventry and Chesterfield.

Nevertheless, after Gordon was injured in mid-October, the Hungarian seized the opportunity to make a name for himself with a string of solid performances and is keeping his fingers crossed Sbragia won't automatically hand the goalkeeping jersey back to the former Hearts captain.

"This run in the team is what I've been waiting for," enthused Fulop. "I want to put in more good performances and make the manager think about who will be No1. I just hope that I have a 50-50 chance with Craig to get the jersey. Although I felt sorry for Craig being injured, I wanted to make the most of my chance."

The Sunderland manager rates Fulop and knows he'll have a tough decision to make now Gordon is available again. Just because the Scot plays tonight does not mean the Hungarian will not be recalled against Stoke. Nor will Sbragia allow kinship to enter the equation.

It has been far from plain sailing for Gordon since he moved to Wearside from Edinburgh. He was also dropped last season in the wake of a 7-1 drubbing from Everton and lost his place for three games to Ward. However, the 26-year-old was strong-minded enough to re-establish himself as first choice and help Sunderland stay in the Premiership.

According to Sbragia, Gordon, who was named in the Scotland squad which gathers for training next week, will be ready to help his country face the Netherlands in Amsterdam on 28 March. It seems inevitable, though, that George Burley, the Scotland manager, will want to see his first-choice goalkeeper play regularly for Sunderland before reinstating him against the Dutch.

With challenges to come for both club and country – Sunderland are 13th in the Premier League with just one win in their last six league games –it is no surprise the big Scot is eager to make a contribution on the domestic scene as well as the international front. "There is still a massive amount to play for," said Gordon. "It's exciting for me to come back into it."

Taken from the Scotsman