Craig Gordon in firm Graeme Souness response as Scotland keeper insists Ukraine claims 'don't matter'

Snubbing the chance to play in a World Cup might come easy to someone who could boast three consecutive trips to football’s greatest show on earth by the time he was 33.

But Craig Gordon has waited a lifetime for an opportunity to take part just once.

And a few months short of his 40th birthday there’s no way the goalkeeper is going to pay any attention to Graeme Souness.

Not when the former Scotland captain - a veteran of Argentina 78, Spain 82 and Mexico 86 - says backing Ukraine to beat Scotland tonight and go on to reach the World Cup is the right thing to do.

Souness reckons a win for Oleksandr Petrakov’s side at Hampden would send a message of defiance to the war-torn nation’s aggressors in Russia.

The 54-times capped heart-on-sleeve skipper, turned coat this week and admitted he doesn’t know where his emotions would be if he was on the park at Hampden this evening.

But Gordon, who will win his 67th cap, has no such problem.

Not that he doesn’t have the greatest sympathy for the horrendous plight of tonight’s opponents. That goes without saying.

But in footballing terms there’s a job to be done.

Responding to Souness’ remarks, Gordon said: “It doesn’t really matter, he’s entitled to his opinion.

“I know the guys that go out on the pitch, the squad here, would desperately love to get to a World Cup.

“It’s maybe a bit different - he’s not playing now.

“For us players, these opportunities don’t come around very often.

"We desperately want to make this our time. We have a very difficult match to win just to get through to the next stage.

“So that’s all we are concentrating on. We want to go and try to win that and whoever anybody wants to support, that’s entirely up to them.

“At 39, you don’t know if there will