Danny Stewart: Sir Kenny’s mark is in his sights – but Craig could have already reached it

Goalkeepers always get the short end of the stick.

When, with a few minutes remaining of Scotland’s goalless draw against Ukraine in midweek, the Tartan Army burst into song, it was the outfield players who got the tribute.

Their chant: “I’d walk a million miles for one of your goals, oh Scotland,” was decent enough to be pressed into vinyl when Rod Stewart recorded it ahead of the 1978 World Cup Finals.

But in Krakow, it was harsh to exclude the last line of defence.

Given Craig Gordon’s heroics on the night: “I’d walk a million miles for one of your saves”, aimed in the direction of the No. 1 would have been more apt.

To be fair, the 39-year-old doesn’t normally go unnoticed.

When he won the Scottish Football Writers’ Player of the Year award last season, he became the only man to do so three times, with the first gong coming way back in 2005-06.

Despite his relative antiquity, that is a situation that is not about to change any time soon.

Quizzed on whether he had ambitions to still be in place when Scotland kick-off their next Nations League campaign in 2024, Gordon pledged to “try my best” to make it happen.

With his best at a standard that should really see him wearing a Superman cape rather then goalie gear, it would be a brave man who would bet against him doing so.

If successful, he would break David Weir’s record as the country’s oldest-ever player, the ex-Rangers and Everton defender having played against Spain aged 40 years and 155 days.

There is precedent. Take these three Italian examples.

Paolo Maldini played outfield aged 41. Dino Zoff won a World Cup with Italy when he was over 40. Gianluigi Buffon is still playing for Parma – and he is 44.

What the Scot will not be able to do is match Buffon’s international caps haul.

The Italian made a staggering 176 appearances for the Azzuri, itself 15 short of Cristiano Ronaldo’s running total with Portugal.

With 73 caps now to his name, Gordon will be doing exceptionally well if he is able to complete his century.

If he could somehow hang around long enough, though, then Sir Kenny Dalglish’s Scottish record of 102 caps will surely be obtainable.

Wondering “what if” about a player who has enjoyed such conspicuous success throughout his career seems a little counter-intuitive. Yet in this case it is unavoidable.

Gordon made his international debut in a 4-1 win against Trinidad & Tobago at Easter Road in 2004. For context, Jackie McNamara, Nigel Quashie and Stevie Crawford were among his team-mates that day.

However, while the keeper progressed to the point where he won his 40th cap in 2010, his 41st did not arrive until 2014. Four years of international football in between were effectively stolen from him by injury.

Had he played through that period, it is not unreasonable to imagine he might have won another 20-plus caps, meaning he would now be standing on the brink of the century landmark and overtaking Dalglish’s record.

If that is unfortunate, spare a thought for his peers.

But for Gordon’s presence, David Marshall – Scotland’s penalty hero in Serbia when Euro 2020 qualification was secured – would have won more than the 47 caps picked up between 2004 and 2021.

Likewise, Allan McGregor would have made more than 42 appearances.

A final bit of sympathy has to go to Robby McCrorie, who has Gordon in front of him with Scotland, and McGregor and Jon McLaughlin ahead of him at Rangers.

At the age of 24, McCrorie boasts the bizarre distinction of having been booked before his international debut, a yellow card having been flashed at him last Tuesday for delaying the game’s restart from his position on the substitutes’ bench.

Even at this early stage, he is learning that – one way or the other – keepers always get the short end of the stick.