Craig Gordon might be proving just as adept at keeping the next generation of Scotland goalkeepers at bay as he is opposition strikers.
But there’s no way Zander Clark would ever grudge the veteran Hearts keeper his number one status for country.
At the ripe old age of 39 Gordon is at the peak of his powers and has shot ahead of the chasing pack as Steve Clarke ’s outright first choice between the sticks with a series of colossal displays.
His inclusion in Clarke’s squad today is a certainty as he looks to win his 65th cap against Poland - which would put him level 10th alongside Willie Miller in Scotland's most capped players.
For Clark, 10 years his junior, the nervous wait to see if he has squeezed into one of the two back-up spaces is all too familiar.
The St Johnstone shotstopper’s performances over the last 18 months have seen him elevated into the national squad on two separate occasions including for November’s play-off clinching double header against Moldova and Denmark.
A first cap is the next target. But even if he’s left watching from the bench - or even the stands as a supporter - Clark insists he will be firmly behind Gordon and the troops.
Speaking to Record Sport, Clark admitted he’d never expect - or want - Gordon to step aside simply on account of his age.
He said: “Not at all! We are all supporters at the end of the day and you want to have the best options available to the country.
“Craig is flying high. He made the crucial penalty save in the game that secured the play-off spot away to Moldova.
“He just churns out performance after performance and it’s great to see.
“He missed a good two or three years of his career through injury and he’s got that time to make up. He’s certainly doing it now!
“If you look after yourself and do the right things you can prolong your career. It’s great to see him still doing it.
“There’s a good batch just waiting to come through. Myself, Liam Kelly and a few others. It’s looking good in that front for whenever the big man decides enough’s enough.
“But I can’t see it being any time soon!
“On the international front it doesn’t matter where you go .. you need to be playing at the highest standard you can be.
“That’s my aim. If those performances are good enough and consistent enough to win international recognition then that’s what I want.
“It’s a massive couple of months coming up on the international front. I want to make sure I’m fit and put in the level of performances I have in recent months to try and get a place there for the play-offs.”
Just this week Gordon topped a table of Premiership goalkeepers and their save percentages with a staggering 79.4per cent. To his credit Clark is second at an also impressive 78.6 per cent.
Gordon's kept 22 clean sheets in 43 appearances for club and country as Hearts romp towards a third place finish.
Clark was just 12-years-old when Gordon made the first of his 64 appearances for Scotland and was a promising young keeper in the Hamilton youth ranks when the Hearts skipper was starring in the thrilling, if ultimately agonising, Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.
He said: “I remember cutting about in my Scotland gear. I’ve always been a big fan of the national team.
“Big Craig was flying then and he’s still flying now.
“To be involved in squads with him and see him up close and to play against him at club level - it’s incredible to see first hand the performances he’s churning out and the professionalism he’s got at 39.
“I remember watching him when he was a young keeper at Hearts and winning his move to Sunderland. I’d watch what he was doing closely, he is a class act.
“That big frame of his seemed unbeatable back then. He used every inch of it. And 15 or so years later it’s no different.
“His stats are sky high.
“Off the park he’s great to get pointers off. You get that off everyone you train with to be honest.
“I’m 29 but that’s still relatively young when you look at Craig and Allan McGregor and boys like that who are still churning in performances of the highest level.
“You learn from them all. Taking pointers on what it takes to still be doing it at their age.”
