At the age of 42, Craig Gordon has earned the right to take his time over a decision on his Hearts future.
A Scottish Cup winner during his first spell who went on to earn the club £9million when moving to Sunderland, a British record for a goalkeeper at the time, he returned in 2020 to show fans he hasn’t lost any of the qualities that endeared him to them in the first place.
The club legend lost his place in the team to Zander Clark last season after suffering a horror double leg break but showed his typical determination to claim back the gloves this term, after reportedly considering leaving Hearts for St Johnstone last summer.
With both heading to the end of contracts the goalkeeping situation had been debated but Clark recently signed a new Jambos deal.
There is a feeling that he must have had assurances over playing time but he will have a fight on his hands should the more experienced shotstopper stay on too.
It was recently claimed Gordon was 50/50 on whether to retire or continue turning out for his boyhood club.
Manager Neil Critchley has insisted talks will take place with out of contract players and also hailed Gordon for a recent match-winning role against St Mirren.
The Scotland keeper has now spoken on his own future.
Gordon speaks on Hearts and Scotland future
Gordon is expected to be named in the Scotland squad for the play-off games against Greece when it is announced tomorrow, but it could be one of the last times as he considers retirement.
He still hasn’t made his mind up on what he wants to do beyond the summer and admits there will ne a number of factors taken into consideration, such as whether he actually plays for Scotland and how his body feels.
“I think everything will shape it,” he told the Edinburgh Evening News. “Not just that, but that will be a very small part of it.
“What my thinking will be, it will be my body and what I think I can achieve going forward. It’s more to do with me than any sort of results base or performance base.
“It is what I feel capable of and continue to feel capable of going forward.”
New Scotland glove rival for Gordon
Gordon could be joined in the national team squad by Chris Brady, 21, who has been impressing for Chicago Fire.
The USA-born shotstopper qualifies through his family and Steve Clarke is keen to cap him.
“I’ve seen little bits of clips of him,” explains Gordon. “He looks like a big lad, a young goalkeeper coming through and making his way in the MLS. It would be great to see if that is the case and to see what he brings to the squad.
“We need Scottish goalkeepers to be playing and getting first-team football. We probably haven’t had as much as the manager would like over the last couple of years. It’s great to see somebody that is playing.”