Craig Gordon reveals details of Celtic exit in the summer

Craig Gordon has revealed details about the manner of his Celtic exit and whether he would have decided to stay after seeing how the season has turned out.

One of the biggest weakness for Celtic has been their goalkeeping. The Hoops had planned to bring back Fraser Forster on another season-long loan from Southampton but those plans fell through when the Englishman refused to return to Parkhead.

As a result, the club were forced to look for alternatives and finally decided to spend £4.5 million to secure the signing of Vasilis Barkas from AEK Athens. It is safe to say that that investment is yet to produce results.

The Greek international came with a great reputation but has failed to establish himself as the man between the sticks for Celtic. He has not looked like an imposing figure at all despite his incredible physical attributes amid concerns that he is having a tough time adjusting to life in Scotland.

Scott Bain has not been much better either and to be very honest, he has never looked like someone who can be a regular starter for Celtic. And Conor Hazard might actually be the man at the top of the goalkeeping pecking order right now.

Of course, all this could have been avoided if the club managed to keep hold of Craig Gordon, who joined Hearts in the summer after his contract ran out at Parkhead. It does not look like he had any interest in staying though judging by his recent comments and is happy to have left on good terms.

As reported by the BBC, Gordon said:

"“It wasn’t messy and there’s no bad blood. I wanted to go and play football. They were going down a different route, they could have got Fraser and I would have sat and not played for another year and that’s something I didn’t want to do.“Even seeing what’s happened there I wouldn’t change a thing. I had a great time and left on good terms with all the coaches. I was speaking with (goalkeeping coach) Stevie Woods when I joined up with the Scotland squad, Neil Lennon phoned me after I left and wished me all the best, John Kennedy was excellent throughout the summer letting me know what was happening.”"

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Many fans have claimed that it was a mistake to let Gordon leave before securing the signing of Forster, and in hindsight, it definitely was one. Despite being 37 years of age, he is a safe pair of hands, who the manager could have relied on.

That is exactly what is lacking right now – players that you can rely on to produce decent performances every week. And rumours that the club offered Gordon a fraction of what he was previously earning were disheartening considering how well he had done since moving to Celtic.

The Hoops will face Gordon when they take to the Hampden Park pitch in the Scottish Cup final against Hearts. On the day, Neil Lennon’s side will have the chance to become the first team in football history to win the Treble in four straight seasons. And one can only hope that the former Scotland international is not on the top of his game on Sunday.