Craig Gordon put on an outstanding performance in the victory over Motherwell in response to Hearts’ defeat at Ross County.
The 41-year-old goalie’s clanger at County was a major factor in his team’s loss of a two-goal lead and subsequent draw.
Gordon came to meet a ball that had been flighted into the area for Staggie’s second goal in stoppage time, but he allowed it to wriggle under him, allowing Jordan White to equalise.
However, throughout his career, he has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to bounce back from adversity, and he did so at Tynecastle on Thursday.
Despite that mistake, the Scotland custodian maintained his spot in the squad although Motherwell didn’t use him much.
He had to be alert to make two saves, though, as Hearts held onto a one-goal advantage at the end. In order to keep Jack Vale out and avoid another collapse, the second one was a fantastic instinctive stop.
Gordon is well past the age at which most people would consider retiring, and his contract expires at the end of the current campaign.
Gordon of Hearts is reportedly 50/50 on retirement.
However, the legendary Jambos player is reportedly undecided of his future plans.
Gordon claimed that he was resolved to make up for it by continuing to play as long as possible after suffering a serious injury that cost him years of his career when he was younger and at Sunderland.
However, it has been disclosed that he is currently split on his future course of action, suggesting that the time may be approaching.
Gordon has a friendship with ESPN broadcaster and former journalist Mark Donaldson, who shared his thoughts on the matter on the Hearts Standard podcast.
He stressed, “Only Craig, Craig alone will determine when he has had enough.”
In all honesty, he hasn’t decided yet and isn’t sure what he will do for the upcoming season.
“We have a problem if this error becomes more commonplace rather than, hopefully, an isolated incident. Does he make it through this?
“Zander Clark can speak with anybody he wants as of midnight on January 1st if they decide they would rather have him next season than no custodian and they don’t want him to sign a free agent contract with Hibs.
Clark will not sign a contract unless he is assured that he will play for the remainder of the season. Thus, there’s another item to consider.
“I think his body tells him and he might not make that decision until March at the earliest,” he continued, hinting at an international retirement. If he remains the top player at Hearts, he will most likely play his final two Scotland matches in March.
He won’t want to play merely for the sake of playing, and there’s even a guarantee that he will be first choice (at Hearts) next season.
He’ll want to be in a position where he believes he can still contribute. And like us, he supports Hearts, so if he has any reservations, it might hurt the team.
“Someone keeping goal at the club merely because they support Hearts is the last thing he would want, whether it be him or someone else.
Therefore, even though Neil Critchley claims to want Craig to be the best, I don’t think that’s the end all.
When he’s had enough, he’ll make a decision. He won’t want to be considered a second-class citizen.
“The man himself hasn’t made a decision yet, so there’s no use in us second-guessing what will occur.”
Gordon’s remarks regarding his Hearts deal
“No contract talks have taken place; it’s too early for that,” Gordon stated. We’ll talk about it in the coming months, but for now, I’m content to be doing everything I can to make things better for us.
“I definitely didn’t plan on playing to this age.
Being able to continue playing at this level is unquestionably a bonus stage of my career. As a child, I always wanted to play in Tynecastle, so it’s amazing that I’m still doing that. The fact that I’m still doing it and have that chance is truly unbelievable.
“I can only give it my all for as long as I can, and we’ll see how long that is.” However, it must be worthwhile; in order to improve our standing moving forward, we must climb the table and end the season as strongly as possible.
However, it does cause you to think. As the new year begins, I’ve improved, particularly in the past two years, and returning to Dundee United, I’ve recovered from [my injury] and played an additional 30 to 40 games. It’s an amazing accomplishment. That was likely a high amount to reach even after the therapy.
