Craig Gordon regards this as his bonus years in football after turning 42 on Hogmanay.
But the Hearts keeper admits that does not mean he will tolerate mediocrity at Tynecastle as the Gorgie side look to finally put their stamp on the Premiership. Thursday’s 1-0 victory over Motherwell lifted the Jambos five points clear of Premiership basement team St Johnstone and within seven of the top six.
Despite their dominance, Hearts still needed veteran shot-stopper Gordon to make sure there was no repeat of the injury-time collapse that saw them concede two goals in a crushing 2-2 draw at Ross County last Sunday. And as they prepare for tomorrow’s clash at in-form Dundee United – the scene of Gordon’s horrific double leg break on Christmas Eve 2022 – the Scotland star remains desperate to deliver success in Gorgie. He said: “I didn’t envisage playing to this age, definitely not.
“This is absolutely a bonus stage of my career to still be here playing at this level. To play at Tynecastle was always my dream as a youngster so to still be doing that is incredible. I honestly can’t believe that I’m still doing it and still have that opportunity.
“All I can do is my very best for as long as I possibly can and we’ll see how long that is. But it’s got to be worth it, we’ve got to move up the table and finish the season as strong as we possibly can to put ourselves in a better position going forward.
“But it does make you reflect. It’s a new year starting and, from where I’ve come, especially over the last couple of years, and going back to Dundee United, I’ve come back from [my injury] and played another 30 to 40 games since. It’s an incredible achievement. Even going through the rehab, that was probably a high number to achieve.”
Gordon’s remarkable revival from that devastating injury at Tannadice includes re-establishing himself as Scotland’s No.1. But the shot-stopper is refusing to look too far into the future with his deal expiring in the summer.
He added: “There’s been no contract talks, it’s too early for that. We’ll have a discussion over the next few months but at the moment I’m happy to be doing everything I can to improve our situation.”
Hearts now have three wins from their last six league matches although they are kicking themselves they do not have another victory to show for their efforts given the events in Dingwall. And Gordon admits it was vital the players showed a response against the Steelmen.
He added: “It’s huge. We actually played pretty well up there [at County] and deserved to win. We were disappointed and it was very quiet for a few days after that game.
“But we had to look at the way we played overall in the full game and there were some good signs. So it’s pleasing that everyone has stepped up and put that right again at Motherwell.
“There were more good signs against Well, especially in the first half. We need to start taking one or two more of our chances and perhaps our games will be a little more comfortable.”