Hearts captain Craig Gordon reveals why Hampden win over Rangers would top cup glory with Celtic

With age comes certain privileges, one of which is the wisdom to cherish the good times when they roll, another is the freedom to call it like it is.

And, like grandparents who have long since ditched the filter that allows others to conform to societal norms, 39-year-old Craig Gordon is at the stage of his career where he no longer feels the need to pretend.

Talking in the build up to Saturday’s Scottish Cup final, the Hearts captain has no compunction to claim that he is so focused on the match that he hasn’t even considered the aftermath. As captain of the club he grew up supporting, of course he has imagined walking up the Hampden steps to collect the trophy before hoisting it high to the soundtrack of jubilation in the maroon and white bedecked stands.

It wouldn’t be the first time he has got his hands on one of the most prestigious pieces of silverware in Scottish football - he has won it three times - and it wouldn’t even be the first time as a Hearts player.

“Yeah but not as captain,” states the Scotland number one, highlighting a key difference. “That would be something pretty special. My family are all Hearts fans so to have them there and see that would be the best moment for them of my entire career, I’ve no doubt. And for me as well.

“To actually lift the cup as the captain of a team – I really don’t think it gets much better than that. Hopefully everybody does the business and we manage to make that happen.

“I think that’s only natural [to think about lifting the cup as captain]. There’s no point trying to fight that. I would love to do that, everybody would. So, of course you allow yourself to imagine that and you prepare for the game imagining that as the outcome. It might not be but that is certainly