CELTIC TO EXTEND CRAIG GORDON’S CONTRACT

CRAIG GORDON is poised to extend his stay at Celtic, with Brendan Rodgers insisting the veteran can follow the example of Dutch legend Edwin van der Saar by playing on until he’s 40.

The keeper who almost quit football completely during two years without a club, is under contract until the end of this season with a further one-year option on the deal.

The Scotland international, who turns 34 on Saturday, is desperately keen to stay with the champions who took a chance on him in the summer of 2014 despite his lengthy spell out with a serious knee injury.

Rodgers confirmed: “Craig is definitely one I want to keep.

“You see now a different goalkeeper to when I first came in. How sure, how calm he is – and there is another clean sheet he got last Saturday gainst Hamilton.

“He still has a lot of games in him. He’s 34 soon, but he’s a top goalkeeper who looks after his body, lives his life the right away.

“Guys like Edwin van der Saar go onto 40. He has a good few years left.

“I think his past injures could put years on to the end of his career. 

“There are not so many miles on the clock. He is really enjoying this way of working. 

“He is contributing to the team and he feels that, too, even when he doesn’t have lot to do.

“He can see how the top goalkeepers in the world function, the way they play football – and he’s been a really important player for us.”