Inside Craig Gordon’s Scotland recall as goalie reveals shock WhatsApp message

CRAIG GORDON says he never closed the door on a Scotland return, but feared it was shut on him.

Steve Clarke handed him his 75th cap as a sub against Finland in May, days after telling him he WASN’T going to the Euros.

3

Goalie Gordon, 41, fully expected that to be his last appearance for his country.

But his displays for Hearts this season saw him named in Clarke’s group to face Croatia and Poland.

And Gordon joked he found out he was in when he was added back into the international WhatsApp chat.

He said: “That’s exactly what happened, yeah!

“I’ve just got two notifications — ‘left’ and then ‘re-added’ — that’s how it stands.

“I didn’t know about it. I found out coming off the training field just before we left to go to the airport.

“So yeah, I didn’t expect it. I thought probably the last time I had 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.

“All I’ve ever done is gone and worked hard to try to come back.

“And that’s what I’ve done. I’ve been able to play a good number of games in the season. I just concentrated on myself, and worked as hard as I could.

“It’s nice the opportunity has come up again.”

Gordon stressed he never thought about retiring from international football as others have done — including Celtic skipper Callum McGregor.

But he did think his time was up when he walked off the Hampden pitch after that 2-2 draw.

He added: “Absolutely, yeah, I did. I didn’t close that chapter but I definitely was thinking that that would be the last time I would ever play for Scotland.

“That was emotional. That was a very difficult few days leading up to that, finding out I wasn’t going to go to the Euros. And then I was going to play a few minutes in this Finland game. There was so much going on, trying to get family there to see what looked like being the final chapter of my Scotland career.

“It’s very difficult to prepare for a match of that magnitude when you feel that it’s coming to an end.

“So that was a crazy few days, difficult circumstances to try to play under. But I’m still thankful for that moment to come on.

3

“And 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 hungry to try to make that, not the end, but make one more appearance in a competitive game.”

Meanwhile, veteran Gordon is desperate to help Hearts get a first win of the season against Dinamo Minsk tonight.

The Jambos’ last-gasp draw with Ross County on Saturday ended a run of eight straight losses.

Now the keeper wants to build on that with a Conference League win behind closed doors in Sumgayit.

He said: “That has to be the aim. It’s a difficult one. There are lots of difficult matches at this level. You’re going to have to fight and scrape for every single point.

“With the way it is now with the league format, three points are going to be vital. Winning games is going to be crucial.

“We have to go out there with the mindset we’re going to try to get the three points.”

Our New YouTube Channel

Subscribe to our new Scottish Sun Sport YouTube channel for all the latest football news, views and amazing moments.

We’ve got every major development covered from Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen and the rest of the Scottish Premiership.

Plus we have TWO brilliant new podcasts to watch every week…

MONDAY

Go Ballistic with Roger Hannah and special guest Kris Boyd will dissect all the weekend action and deliver their no-holds-barred reaction.

WEDNESDAY

Robert Grieve and Bill Leckie chew over the tastiest topics in Scottish football and offer their unique takes in their Coffee Club.

FRIDAY

Go Ballistic is back with Roger Hannah and top tipster Jim Delahunt looking ahead to the weekend games and analysing the biggest talking points.

Subscribe now and don’t miss a thing.

Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page