Craig Gordon to emerge from Scotland cold storage as Steve Clarke dismisses lack of Hearts action
The Tynecastle keeper hasn't played for the Jambos this season but it's needs must for World Cup qualifiers
Craig Gordon looks set to be hauled out of cold storage to keep Scotland’s World Cup dream alive.
The 42-year-old has been named in Steve Clarke’s squad for the crunch qualification double header against Greece and Denmark which could see Clarke secure a place at next summer’s finals in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
And, despite being frozen out of top team action at Hearts, Gordon looks odds on to be thrown the gloves with Angus Gunn sidelined by a knee injury.
Rangers No.2 Liam Kelly and Falkirk’s Scott Bain have also been included in the 25 strong group but, with 81 caps, Gordon’s wealth of experience at international level looks set to be a critical factor in Clarke’s selection.
And the manager insisted on Monday Gordon’s complete lack of action at club level will not count against the veteran making a blockbuster return.
Clarke said: “We were in the same position in September when Angus hadn't been playing either. He went in and he didn't do too badly.
“Like I said, always with the goalkeepers, it's a different position, quite often they're the number two or the number three. As long as you know you've got boys who train well, work well, they should be ready for the game. So that's my thinking on that.”
Asked if Gordon’s vast back catalogue might come into consideration he replied: “Craig's obviously got the amount of caps that he's got, he's never let his country down.
“Liam Kelly's an experienced goalkeeper, Scott Bain made a big decision to come out of Celtic and go and play regular first team football. Now that he's in the squad, this is probably a reward for that decision.
“As always, we'll look at all three of them in training. I'll lean heavily on Chris Woods, my goalkeeping coach, and we'll come to the decision and decide who starts.”
Clarke revealed that the squad will travel to a warm weather training camp in Belek, Turkey before making the short hop to Athens for the game against the Greeks on Saturday November 15.
The Scots will then return to Glasgow to prepare for a potential qualification shoot-out against Denmark, with top spot in Group C potentially up for grabs.
Both sides currently sit on 10 points with just two games to go. The Danes will take on Belarus in Copenhagen before heading to Hampden for the big finale.
Clarke - who has also called up Hearts skipper Lawrence Shankland - needs to avoid defeat against Greece to keep his side in with a realistic chance of winning the section and avoid the peril of a place in the play-offs.
He said: “I think we all need to remind ourselves that we would have been delighted to be in this position coming into the last two games of the qualifying campaign, having already eliminated one of the major threats in the Greeks.
“They can't be involved in the play-off, they can't be involved in the shake up for first place. “That doesn't mean to say it's not going to be a difficult game in Greece because I'm sure they'll be fired up to prove that they're better than Scotland. But we're in a good position.
“What we have to do is make sure that we get the result we need in Greece to make the Denmark game here a cup final.”