CRAIG GORDON believes defeat against Inter Milan in the San Siro last season helped turn Celtic into double winners.
The Hoops keeper is eager for the club to crash into Europe’s elite after last season’s disappointment in the Champions League qualifiers.
Gordon reckons there were positives to be taken from their resultant Europa League campaign, though, and reckons the team displayed a toughness in Milan that remained with the players for the remainder of the campaign.
Ronny Deila’s men had drawn 3-3 with the Italian giants at Parkhead in the first leg, but Virgil van Dijk was harshly dismissed in the first-half of the return before Fredy Guarin scored with two minutes remaining.
The comeback star said: “We dug in well that night in Milan without really carrying a threat after we went down to 10 men.
“We needed to do that to win the game and get through, but we stayed in it for a long time and you really only need one set-piece or something like that to fall your way.
“That was a good defensive performance and I think the defence tightened up dramatically after that.
“We were hardly losing any goals towards the end of the season, so it was possibly a good thing for the guys at the back to get the bit between our teeth and try to stay in that match.
“I think it certainly did improve us. We realised what we had to do to make sure we weren’t conceding any more goals after that.”
The 32-year-old international added: “I made a lot of saves in the European campaign.
“We were under a lot of pressure playing against some good teams and, from a goalkeeper’s point of view, it is nice to go into games knowing that you are going to be needed to try to dig out a result.
“To do that and get the points we needed to get out of the group stages was the best part of the season for me.
“It is sometimes easier when you are involved in the game all the time and making save after save. I enjoy that side of it and I enjoy trying to grind out results.
“Overall, it wasn’t a terrible campaign for me personally and you have to take the positives out of that.”
