Steven Pressley backs Craig Gordon to break more of his Hearts records as he warns 'don't write him off'
Gordon is facing a year out after a horror double leg break but Elvis wouldn't be surprised to see him play again.
Steven Pressley is only half joking when he says it.
He’s lost so many records to Craig Gordon that he’s running out of personal milestones to brag to his own kids about! But the former Hearts skipper is deadly serious when he says he wants his stricken old team mate to relieve him of another one next season. Scotland ’s No.1 will turn 40 this Saturday, celebrating with his leg in a cast and his career in the balance as he begins the long recovery process after suffering a horrific double break at Tannadice on Saturday.
Pressley, though, has the history of experience when it comes to the extent of Gordon’s iron will and mental resilience. Which is precisely why he’s backing the veteran to overcome this latest crushing set-back. “Football amazes you because over the last couple of months I’ve done a number of interviews regarding Craig, talking about how he has smashed certain long standing records of mine throughout his time at Hearts - and that he would go on to smash others,” Pressley says with a rueful shake of the head.
Speaking exclusively to Record Sport, he continues: “And yet, like football does so often, when everything seems to be going so well it has this knack for kicking you right where it hurts.
“It will be a huge disappointment for him and, although I expect him to return, it’s certainly going to be a lot of work ahead and a long way back. As soon as I heard the news the other day my heart went out to him.
“He has now won more international caps than I did during my time at the club and I think he also equalled my European appearance record earlier this season. Of course, next season he would have gone on to break that if Hearts qualify for Europe.
“So that would have been another one gone. It’s like I’m running out of things to boast to my children about!
“But, knowing Craig as I do, I wouldn’t rule that one out either. It’s my last standing record and I’m sure it’s an ambition of his to break that one too.
“Look, it’s going to be a long way back for him at his age but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that he does return and he does go on to break that record as well. If there’s one thing we should all realise about Craig Gordon by now then it’s surely never to write him off.”
It was more than 16 years ago when Pressley discovered the true steeliness of the man who is now squaring up to one of the biggest battles of his own extraordinary career.
Gordon may have been a fresh faced 24-year-old at the time but when Pressley called an impromptu and explosive press conference to launch a Molotov cocktail at Vladimir Romanov for overseeing a reign of terror at Tynecastle, the young keeper was right by his side.
With Paul Hartley on the other, the term the ‘Riccarton Three’ was born. And Pressley recalls: “That all feels like a different lifetime now. Craig was young and relatively inexperienced at the time but that showed the kind of character he already was as a man.
“He has a quiet resilience about him which makes him, in my opinion, the perfect type of personality for a goalkeeper - someone who goes about his business in a certain manner but is always almost unflappable.
“So, while I’m sure this injury will be a big concern for him, going by his history it will not break him. He has the personality and the strength of character to come back from it - and that would be an amazing story in itself.
“Because that day in 2006, when we sat shoulder to shoulder together, feels like it was an eternity away. And yet he’s still playing and still defying all the odds.
“He proved it once already when he came back from a knee problem which many thought might end his career. I’m sure there are many people now who think this will be the end of him. But I’m sure Craig will have other thoughts in his mind.”
Scotland manager Steve Clarke will also have a lot to mull over now that his first choice keeper has become unavailable for selection, for the time being at least. Somehow Clarke has to find a way of replacing Gordon in time for a Euro 2026 qualification double header against Cyprus and Spain in March - and another against Erling Haaland’s Norway and then Georgia in June.
Second choice Rangers keeper Jon McLaughlin will be in contention along with Motherwell’s Liam Kelly. And Gordon’s deputy at Hearts, Zander Clark, may also have thoughts on keeping his place warm for both club and country. But, the fact of the matter is, that none of the above have earned the right to be classed in Gordon’s elite category.
Pressley nods: “We’ve gone through a sort of golden period for Scottish football with our goalkeepers and it does seem to be coming to an end. Craig was flying the flag for that so it will be interesting now to see who can step up and fill his gloves.
“At this moment, you wouldn’t look at any of these goalkeepers as being quite at the same level as Craig or David Marshall or Allan McGregor so it’s a very big void we have to fill.”
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