Craig Gordon exclusive: Hearts captain on Scotland prospects for Craig Halkett and Stephen Kingsley

Back then, the up-and-coming Gordon was part of a triumvirate with centre-backs Steven Pressley and Andy Webster – current manager Robbie Neilson was the right-back – that the Hearts team was built around.

It was a solid foundation not only for Hearts but for Scotland too. Gordon, Pressley and Webster evolved into the collective heartbeat for club and country under Berti Vogts. He picked them together at first and Walter Smith stuck with them when he took over as Scotland boss.

Gordon is leaving current boss Steve Clarke to make up his own mind, of course, but he knows good relationships at club level can be beneficial for the national team too. He has that understanding with Souttar, Halkett and Kinglsey.

“When Steven Pressley and Andy Webster were centre-halves in front of me the first time around, we also played in the international team together and that was a good understanding,” he recalls.

“I do feel I have something similar with Craig, John and Stephen, so it’s good for Hearts to have that stable base and hopefully we can continue that to the end of the season.”

Although the World Cup play-off against Ukraine now looks unlikely to go ahead as scheduled this month, Clarke is due to announce his Scotland squad next week.

Gordon and Souttar, of course, are stick-on selections, but Halkett and Kingsley must be in with a chance.

“That’s up to the Scotland manager,” smiles Gordon. “He’s done a pretty good job so far, so I’ll leave that entirely up to him. But in terms of their Hearts form, they’ve all been playing very well.

“We’ve had a good number of clean sheets and we’ll see when it is announced. For them, it’s about performing, like they have been doing, consistently for Hearts and that’s all they can do. We’ll