Roy Keane once gave Craig Gordon a standing ovation when the pair were at Sunderland.
But the Hearts No.1 admits the whole of Scottish football would be on their feet if his old gaffer pitched up at capital rivals Hibs.
Gordon is watching with interest after Keane’s name was fired in to the frame for the Easter Road manager’s gig.
And he insisted he’d love to see the legendary Manchester United enforcer landing the job – as the Edinburgh rivalry would be major box office.
Gordon was signed by Keane in a British record £9million deal in 2009 and he enjoyed some ups and downs with the fiery Irishman.
The ex-Celtic midfielder famously led a round of applause for the keeper after a stunning display in training.
But he also battered Gordon for not playing through the pain barrier when he was carrying an injury.
There’s no hard feelings and the Jambos ace only has good things to say about Keano – and he’s convinced he would be superb for the game in Scotland.
Gordon said: “It’d be brilliant for Scottish football in terms of the stature and press attention that he would bring not only to Hibs, but to Edinburgh as well.
“He could be a very good manager, he proved that early on at Sunderland when he got them promoted and kept them in the league.
“You look where Sunderland are now. Maybe people didn’t think it was a huge achievement at the time, but it actually was.
“So, yeah, I would love it, let’s see if it happens.
“It’s a huge name, and I would love to see it. It would be pretty special for both Edinburgh clubs if he was there.”
Keane’s link with Hibs has split fans as some folk reckon the 50-year-old is simply too volatile after a career packed full of high profile bust ups.
There are also some who reckons the Old Trafford great is simply too old school.
Gordon is not having it though.
He said: “There’s different ways to do it. You can be a hands-on coach, you can be a manager and let the other people do the coaching, there’s definitely different styles out there.
“I don’t think that would really make much of a difference.
“He would maybe need to have a bigger team around him than was the case for everybody back 15 years ago or whatever.
“I don’t see that being a big problem at all really, he would do well. Without a doubt. I think he could be a good manager, I really do.
“There’s obviously been a couple of clubs where it hasn’t worked out for him.
“But certainly at Sunderland the spirit in that team to stay in that league, the amount of late goals we got to get a draw or get a win that scraped us by to get enough points to stay in the league was a huge achievement.
“I’ve got nothing but good things to say. I would love it if he came to Edinburgh, it would be great.”
While Gordon would love to square up to his old gaffer next season, he’s still enjoying this one.
The 39-year-old’s sensational form saw him shortlisted for the Football Writers’ Player of the Year Award.
In recent weeks Hearts boss Robbie Neilson insisted his No.1 was up alongside Jim Leighton and Andy Goram as one of the best Scottish keepers of all time.
Gordon said: “That’s nice to hear. Those guys went on into their 40s as well.
“So you are not going to get a bigger compliment than that in this country for how great those guys were and the length of their careers.
“That’s the biggest compliment I can have, to be compared to those guys.
“It’s nice to hear. It’s been a good season and the performance levels have been consistent.
“It’s not an easy task but I’m very happy with my form.
“It’s contributed to a successful season but we’re not finished yet.
“We have the biggest game right at the end of the season.”
Gordon is referring to the Scottish Cup Final against Rangers, of course, and he’d love to make a bit of history 16 years after winning the trophy in his first spell at Hearts.
He said: “You’d need to look up the record books but I can’t imagine too many players have done that. I’d love to be able to win it again.
“We’ll go into the game as huge underdogs but we’re happy with where we are as a team and we’ll give it our best shot and see if we can win it.
“I was at the Youth Cup Final (Hearts v Rangers) and it’s 22 years since I won that.
“So time is ticking on. When you start saying things like 22 years and 16 years it brings it home that it’s a little bit crazy that I’m still doing this.”
There’s also Scotland’s quest for Qatar and Gordon added: “I’d like to lift the Scottish Cup as a captain as well before I do that. But if I can do both that would be quite a nice thing.”
