Rodgers wants new deal for Gordon

Brendan Rodgers revealed his determination to sign Craig Gordon on for another three seasons, insisting that it would be his signing of the season for Celtic.

The 34-year-old signed for the Parkhead side in July 2014, after spending two years as a free agent and was recalled to the Scotland national team later that year. During his Celtic career, Gordon has been a star as their first-choice goalkeeper.

Celtic managed to hold onto the stopper after strong interest from Chelsea in the January transfer window.

The Scotland international extended his run of clean sheets to four in 2017, following the 1-0 victory over Aberdeen.

The Hoops extended their lead at the summit of the Scottish Premiership to 25 points.  Dedryck Boyata scored his second goal in the space of seven days with another bruising header.

Speaking to the Daily Record about Gordon, he said:

Getting Craig on a new contract will be our best signing. That will be our most important signing once it is all done.

It’s difficult for Craig because I don’t think he is built for all the stress. He is a big, laid back calm guy and all this probably got on his nerves a bit.

I have reassured him he is a massive part of what I am doing here. You see the level of his game, his composure, his quality. I’m very hopeful that soon we will tie him down for longer here. He is a huge player in relation to how I want the team to operate.

I’m sure it was stressful for him but he will be delighted the window is shut now. Rodgers is relieved to keep the stopper; it seems that his contract will be renewed in the near future.

Rodgers also commented on the upcoming match this weekend as Celtic face St Johnstone for the second time in just over a week.

He added:

The next target is to win against St Johnstone. I said to the players before the game that on February 3 last year they played Aberdeen away and lost. Aberdeen went three points behind Celtic.

I said if you win this one, in less than a year you’ll go 27 points ahead of them. So that difference and how it is created means you can’t go soft. You have to push and keep fighting.

We have a record number of wins. But we are not going soft. You have to be relentless. And you have to win.

They did that. They are 27 points ahead of Aberdeen and 25 ahead of the others.

What we are trying to create here is an attitude for the next four or five years and beyond. Not just for this season.

The Hoops will look to extend their record of 28 matches unbeaten and are determined to create a record that will never be broken.

The venue is McDiarmid Park and kick-off is at 12:30.