ROCK OF AGES

Neilson sees Hearts as perfect fit for Gordon to play on as long as he wants

ANOTheR decade and a half might not be possible without half a dozen major medical breakthroughs in delaying the ageing process.

But there was a serious message behind Robbie Neilson’s jokey answer when asked about the length of Craig Gordon’s proposed contract extension.

Scotland No 1 Gordon was back in training with the hearts first team yesterday, no doubt accepting plentiful congratulations from his club-mates after two more huge performances for the national team.

head coach Robbie Neilson knows how lucky club and country are to have someone capable of pulling off vital saves at crucial moments.

having revealed there is a clause in Gordon’s one-year contract allowing him to extend his second stint at Tynecastle, Neilson couldn’t resist when probed on how much longer the goalie might be around.

‘Fifteen years,’ he said with a grin. ‘As long as Craig wants to play, he’ll be here, hopefully.

‘he turns 39 later this year and is still fit as a fiddle. So whatever Craig wants to do, we’re happy to facilitate it.

‘We’re keen to get him tied down; he has a clause in his contract and we’re trying to move forward on that.

‘I don’t see it being too much of an issue here, he is very settled. his family stay around the corner. So hopefully we’ll get it done.’

Gordon’s performances for Scotland reinforced his status as the best free-agent signing of last summer, the ex-Celtic keeper jumping at the chance to return to his first club.

he was excellent in the win over Israel at hampden. And, but for a stunning save in the first half on Tuesday night, Scotland might not have escaped with three points from their World Cup tester against the Faroe Islands.

‘That’s what Craig does,’ said Neilson. ‘he is very steady with the simple things.

‘Then he makes the exceptional looks easy as well. hopefully he continues that with us.

‘he trained today and is in good spirits. he had two really good performances and two really good results, so he is ready to go.

‘he is playing in a good team just now and he gives us that base. When he is called upon, he makes the saves. And he gives the rest of the team that confidence as well.

‘For me, goalkeeper is a massively important position in the team. If you are going to strengthen, then it’s one of the first positions you would look at, keeper, centre-half, striker. We’re pleased we have got that.

‘At Craig’s age and his situation, with the family staying in edinburgh and him eventually looking to get into coaching as well, I think this is the perfect place for him.’

Gordon will undoubtedly have a part to play as hearts head to Ibrox in pursuit of victory tomorrow.

With John Souttar back to full fitness after a week of hard training, Neilson has a decision to make in defence. Knowing they can return to the top of the Premiership by beating the champions on their own turf, the Gorgie side won’t lack for motivation in Govan. Yet Neilson understands the scale of the challenge confronting his team. ‘It’s a huge game for us. We’ve started the season really well, as both clubs have, and it’s a chance for us to see where we are,’ he said. ‘In the grand scheme of the whole season, it’s another game, another opportunity to win three points. ‘Look, it’s been a long time since hearts won there — 2014 was the last time we did it. So it’s going to be difficult. But we feel like we’re in good form and have a good shot. We need a bit of luck and we need to play the best game we can play.’

Neilson was in his first spell in charge at hearts when they beat Rangers at Ibrox in the opening round of Championship fixtures seven seasons ago.

‘We had a good team back then, a lot of threats — similar to the team we have now.

‘We’ve got a lot of young, hungry guys and a few experienced ones.

‘That’s a big difference to teams I’ve been involved with in the past, going through to Glasgow.

‘The game (in 2014), it was the first of the season, so it was a marker for the rest of the campaign, showed us where we wanted to be.

‘When you go to Ibrox or Parkhead, you’re always the underdog. They’re just expected to win week in, week out.

‘We go there feeling we’re in good form. But we’ll find out at three o’clock on Saturday.

‘Us being unbeaten builds confidence in the group. We’ve got a good team, good team spirit, and wins keep that rolling on.

‘If you go there on the front foot, you give yourself a chance. We have a plan to play the way we always play. The team is playing well, so we go there to give it a shot.

‘It’s a lot easier said than done. You go out saying: “We’re going to do this, this and this”. But then you’re playing against 11 international players who are very, very good, able to dominate the play in front of 52,000 fans.

‘So we have a plan of what we want to do. It’s about implementing that.

‘There will be times in the game when you can, times in the game when you can’t.

‘But we’re positive and we hope to play the way we’ve played so far this season.’