Craig insists winning just one more Scotland cap would make it the most special of his career.
The veteran Hearts goalkeeper was handed a recall by Steve Clarke this week four months after it looked like his international days were over. Now he’s set to challenge Angus Gunn for the number one shirt ahead of the upcoming Nations League double header against Croatia and Portugal.
Gordon says he refused to close the book on Scotland even though he thought he’d reached the end. Just four months ago it looked like he’d been handed a Hampden farewell as a sub against Finland after being agonisingly cut from Clarke’s squad for Euro 2024.
Being ditched from the players’ WhatsApp group was a savage reminder of what he’d lost. But Gordon was reinstated to both this week ahead of the Nations League double header against Croatia and Portugal – and admits even he was surprised.
The 41-year-old is in Azerbaijan for Hearts‘ Europa Conference League opener against Dinamo Minsk tonight. And he said: “I didn’t know about it. I found out coming off the training field just before we left to go to the airport on Tuesday.
“I thought probably the last time that I played that would be the final game. But I never closed that chapter. I went away and worked hard and had a good pre-season.
“It’s nice that the opportunity has come up again. There is no better feeling than representing your country to go out and play for Scotland.
“I’ve been very lucky to do that on 75 occasions. To do that one more, having probably thought it was already the end, would be even more special again. So yeah, I’m very thankful for any opportunities that I get at this stage of my career to play in big games and show that I can still do it at a very high level.”
Gordon admits the pain of being chopped from the Euro 2024 squad stung. But now he’s back in the WhatsApp group he’s not ready to be bombed again any time soon. He said: “I’ve just got two notifications – ‘left’ and then ‘re-added’, so that’s how it stands!
“I definitely was thinking that Finland would be the last time that I would play for Scotland. And that was emotional. That was a very difficult few days leading up to that, finding out that I wasn’t going to go to the Euros. And then I was going to play a few minutes in this game.
“There was so much going on, trying to get family there to see what it looked like being the final chapter of my Scotland career. You never know, that may still be the last time that I ever play for Scotland. I obviously hope now that it’s not, but it could well be.
“So for that moment, I was very grateful for that, for being on the pitch that one final time. But now I’m back in the squad, I’m obviously hungry to try and make that, not the end, but make one more appearance in a competitive game.”
Hearts are looking for a first win of the season at the 11th attempt in Sumgayit on Thursday night. A shocker of a start to the season sees them sitting rock bottom of the Premiership and led to Steven Naismith’s dismissal last week. But Gordon believes a win in Europe can be the springboard their season so badly needs.
He said: “There’s still lots to achieve. I think we’ve got a big opportunity coming up in this competition right here. It’s probably a welcome distraction from everything that’s going on in Scotland for us at the moment.
“To come over here as a group and focus on getting a good result and getting off to a good start in this group. And if we can get a few wins on the board, then there’s the opportunity that we could perhaps get out of the group. So we have to focus on that. That is the next game.
“For me personally, it’s about keeping on playing. I’m getting close to 300 harsh appearances for Hearts. That would be something that would be quite nice to achieve this season. And beyond that, it’s about trying to stay in the team and doing as well as I can for everybody here. “