Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon admits Brendan Rodgers was right to drop him

CRAIG GORDON doesn’t hesitate when making a surprising confession.

He admits he’s glad that Brendan Rodgers dropped him from the Celtic team earlier this season.

The goalkeeper cut a frustrated figure when he lost his place to Dutchman Dorus de Vries at the end of August.

The Hoops manager made it clear that Gordon’s use of the ball with his feet wasn’t good enough for his liking.

That’s all changed.

The 33-year-old has been restored to the No. 1 position for club and country, and he’s realistic when asked if he deserved to be left out.

“Probably,” he said. “I think it had been coming for a while, so perhaps a step back was what I needed.

“You don’t see that at the time. It was disappointing not to be in the team for four or five games. But it gave me the time to really focus on what was needed to play in this team.

“Since I’ve come back in, it has been an awful lot better.

“The manager has been great with me the whole time since he took me out of the team.

“The way he was with me while I was out and then in putting me back in, there has never been a problem there.

“He dealt with the situation really well.

“Now that I look back at it, he has probably helped me, not only in the short term but the long term, too.”

Gordon is happy to talk about the way he has improved in a short time under Rodgers.

He went on: “The game has changed for goalkeepers. From when I started playing, there is undoubtedly much more emphasis on a goalkeeper using his feet.

“The areas that we hit, playing the ball out, whatever the system, the goalkeeper is now a focal point.

“Before you would put the ball down, play it into an area, and everybody would crowd that area and you would play for a second ball.

“It wasn’t all that difficult. Now it’s more complicated.

“There are more things to think about. But I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to grips with it and, hopefully, I can continue to improve.

“It was something I felt I did have within me but I’d never been asked to do it.

“The teams I played for in the past had been fairly direct.

“At Hearts we had Mark de Vries up front as our targetman, and at Sunderland it was Kenwyne Jones.

‘That was what was asked of me. I had never been asked to play any other way.

“Now I have, I realise the core skills were there for me to do it. But you have to play within the game plan.

“I’m thoroughly enjoying the way we are playing at the moment. It’s exciting and, mentally, it’s a new challenge.”

Gordon will try to deny the superstars of Barcelona when they come to Celtic Park for their Champions League clash on Wednesday.

He was out of the game and unsure if he would recover from injury when the Hoops defeated the Catalan giants 2-1 back in 2012.

“Hopefully we can repeat the feat,” he said.

“It was an iconic goal from Tony Watt to win the game.

“It has been played back many times and is probably his career highlight.

“Perhaps someone else can become a hero this time.

“I always wanted to resurrect my career during my time without a club.

“The way I feel now, I’ve not only got back to playing like I did before, but I’m probably better than I was before.

“I’m very happy with that.”

After watching Dorus de Vries lose seven goals in the Nou Camp, Gordon knows just how difficult it is to keep Barcelona at bay.

He went on: “I spoke to Dorus after the game, but there’s not a great deal you can say.

“I lost seven when I was at Sunderland in a game against Everton. So I know that it doesn’t feel good.

“But we all support each other here. We’re a good group of goalies who get on really well.

Gordon is looking forward to facing Messi & Co.

He said: “I’ll be aware that the ball will be in our half a lot. I’ll have to keep
readjusting and be ready for shots.

“The way Barca like to play, a lot of their goals are from close range. We’ll be training towards that.

“They had 14 shots on target here last time. I’ve probably never faced that many in a game.

“That’s obviously the keeper’s domain, so I better keep them out.

“Based on the England game at Wembley last week, we’ll get beaten 14-0 if I don’t.”

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