Craig Gordon insists he’d be willing to play for Hearts even if they are in the Championship next season – as he hit out at Celtic.
The Parkhead and Scotland goalkeeper is out of contract and has been a hugely reduced offer to remain with the champions - but Gordon admits he has spoken to Hearts and the possibility of a return to his first club is alive and kicking.
Gordon, 37, is weighing up a number of offers and has rejected a move to St Mirren.
But it looks increasingly unlikely his six-year stay at Celtic will be extended as he accused the club of allowing contract negotiations to drag on for weeks without being resolved.
Gordon said: “They did speak about it a few weeks ago. The negotiations haven’t been particularly good, I’ve got to be honest.
“It has dragged out and I feel it could have been handled an awful lot better.
“I had a fantastic time there over the six years and I still want to be able to speak them and see what they have to offer and what they’re thinking about my role for next season if they want me to stay there.
“There’s still a little bit of chat still to be had there, but I’d have liked things to have been sorted out before now. But with that said, that now leaves the door open for everybody else to make an offer.”
Gordon, who fell behind Fraser Forster in the Parkhead pecking order, revealed he’d been asked to make a massive pay cut to remain at Celtic.
“It (the gap) was absolutely enormous, so there wasn’t much chance of there being a possibility of a deal,” he told talkSPORT. “It was a long way short of what I was expecting from them and that’s what I told them.
“As yet, they’ve not come back with anything else, so it’s up to them to come back with a better deal and I’d still be willing to listen to them and absolutely nothing has changed since then.
“I am in talks with Hearts and have been speaking to other teams in Scotland, so we’ll see what happens. I’m in no rush to make my decision just yet.”
The lure of a return to Tynecastle, is tempting, he admitted.
“Hearts are Hearts - it is such a huge club,” he said. “That was my boyhood club and they mean so much to me, so it doesn’t matter what league Hearts are in. They are still a huge club.
“You look at what they are doing off the field - the number of season tickets they sold already is huge and more than a vast number of teams in Scotland. They are still going to be a massive club, regardless of what division they are in.
“That doesn’t come into play too much. Everything will go into my decision - what division teams are in, how many games they’re playing - will all go into the things I’ll have to consider over the next few weeks.”
