Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon admits Allan McGregor’s breathtaking save against Slavia Prague has reinforced his desire to play at the highest level for as long as he can.
Gordon was quick to get in touch with the Rangers shot-stopper after McGregor kept out Lukas Masopust’s header in last Thursday’s 1-1 Europa League draw with Slavia Prague.
The 39-year-old’s heroics were hailed as ‘genius’ by Slavia boss Jindrich Trpisovsky, while the save has also been described as better than England legend Gordon Bank’s famous block during the 1970 World Cup.
Former Celtic goalkeeper Gordon, who turned 38 in December, was also left in awe of one-time Scotland colleague McGregor’s efforts.
And after being named in the Scotland squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, Gordon admits he is inspired by McGregor.
Speaking to BBC Scotland, he said: “It was an incredible save, I text him afterwards just to ask him how he managed to keep that out and even he didn’t know.
“I watched his interview and you can just tell, he didn’t quite know how he managed to keep that out.
“It was an incredible save, one that I was watching on TV and one that had to be seen to be believed, fantastic.
“He’s 39 years of age and that gives me motivation as well to keep going and keep performing at the highest possible level.”
Gordon hopes he is back going head-to-head with McGregor at opposite ends of the pitch next season, with Hearts on course to claim the Championship title.
He added: “It’s great to see him still doing that, he’s had a fabulous career and let’s hope he’s not quite finished yet.
“I would love to see him play for another year and have another few games against him next season.”
Gordon, meanwhile, is looking forward to linking up with the Scotland squad ahead of qualifiers against Austria, Israel and the Faroe Islands.
The keeper, who collected his 55th cap in last November’s Nations League loss in Slovakia, added: “It’s something that has always motivated me through my career and with the potential of getting to a Euros, only a couple of games away, at the start of the season I knew I had to get myself back playing to try and be involved and I’ve been fairly pleased with how the season has gone personally.
“I want to be part of the team that goes to the Euros after such a long period of time.
“Hopefully I can continue playing at Hearts and do as well as I can for the country, and hopefully I can still do that for a few years yet.
“We want to try and be a team that qualifies for not just one tournament but something we can do on a more consistent basis.
“It’s been too long between tournaments so we have to make sure we get off to a good start.
“We need to be up and running and get some good results rights away.
“The manager has got the team very well organised and everybody knows their jobs.”
