CRAIG GORDON has revealed how last season’s Euro exit to Inter Milan helped build the foundations for the defensive meanness that turned Celtic into double winners.

The Hoops keeper is eagerly awaiting Monday’s draw for the second qualifying round of the Champions League and is determined to make up for the disappointments of this stage last year when Ronny Deila’s side failed to make it through the preliminaries.

Gordon believes there were positives to be taken from their resultant Europa League campaign, though, and reckons that night in the San Siro showed a real toughness that has stayed with the team since.

Celts had drawn 3-3 with the Italian giants at Parkhead in the first leg of their Round of 32 clash and entered the lion’s den looking for a victory.

They had one great chance and two penalty claims turned down before Virgil van Dijk was sent off after 36 minutes and still kept the match competitive until the end when Fredy Guarin scored with two minutes remaining to settle the tie.

Gordon believes Celtic proved themselves capable of handling the challenges of European football that night, though, and points out that it went on to spark a run of 11 shut-outs in 17 games as the League Cup and SPFL Premiership title were placed in the trophy cabinet.

“We dug in well that night in Milan without really carrying a threat after we went down to 10 men,” he recalled.

“We needed to do that to win the game and get through, but we stayed in the game for a long time and you really only need one set-piece or something like that to fall your way.

“That was a good defensive performance and I think the defence tightened up dramatically after that.

“We were hardly losing any goals towards the end of the season, so it was possibly a good thing for the guys at the back to get the bit between our teeth and try to stay in that match.

“I think it certainly did improve us. We realised what we had to do to make sure we weren’t conceding any more goals after that.”

Europe was certainly a very mixed arena for Celtic last season. The qualifiers for the Champions League were an unmitigated disaster with a 6-1 aggregate loss to Legia Warsaw being followed by a second bite at the cherry after the Poles had been found guilty of fielding an ineligible player.

However, despite earning a 1-1 draw in Slovenia in the first leg of the play-off round, a one-goal loss to unfashionable Maribor destroyed their hopes of making it to the group stages of club football’s premier competition.

Performances, in fairness, were mixed in the Europa League, but Gordon did much to ensure safe passage to the knockout round with a phenomenal display of goalkeeping earning a 1-0 home win over Dynamo Zagreb.

Gordon arrived at Celtic on a free transfer last summer as understudy to Fraser Forster, earning his chance when the Englishman was sold to Southampton for £10m. He hadn’t played for two years through injury.

Nothing was certain, but his displays in Europe offered clear proof that he was capable of returning to the highest level and he wants to build on the progress made last term in the season ahead.

“I made a lot of saves in the European campaign,” said the 32-year-old. “We were under a lot of pressure playing against some good teams and, from a goalkeeper’s point of view, it is nice to go into games knowing that you are going to be needed to try to dig out a result.

“To do that and get the points we needed to get out of the group stages was the best part of the season for me.

“It is sometimes easier when you are involved in the game all the time and making save after save. I enjoy that side of it and I enjoy trying to grind out results.”

“Overall, it wasn’t a terrible campaign for me personally and you have to take the positives out of that.”

Gordon’s grand comeback, of course, brought a recall to the Scotland squad. He played 45 minutes of the recent friendly win over Qatar at Easter Road and was on the bench for the Euro 2016 draw with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.

Celtic return to pre-season training on Tuesday with Gordon having only had a short break, but he insists he is ready to go again.

“Everyone goes through highs and lows during the season and stages in which they feel they have to drag themselves through a few games,” he said.

“At the moment, though, I certainly feel good. There have been stages during the season in which I was a little tired, but perhaps one of the many benefits of playing for Celtic is that you can get games where you are not needed too often and you can get through without having to do too much.”

Unlike last summer, Gordon enters the campaign as Celtic’s confirmed No.1.

He believes that spell in the wilderness, though, helped him return to football as a more resilient character.

“I think everything made me a stronger person,” he said. “I can put things in perspective much more easily now and I am probably a lot more relaxed than I was before. I think that can help you out on the pitch, so I think it has made me better in some senses.”