Craig Gordon has insisted that he is as confident as he has ever been after coming back into the Celtic team.

The Scotland internationalist was dropped for last month’s league victory against Aberdeen with Dorus de Vries taking the gloves.

An injury to the Dutchman opened the door for Gordon to come back in and the keeper has insisted that he has not lost any of his self-belief in the process.

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“I have always been confident in what I can do and my own ability,” said Gordon. “If I have not been selected then that has been the manager’s decision and I respect that.

“My confidence has been fine and I think I have done pretty well in stages already this season. If I can get back into the team then hopefully I can go from strength to strength.

“I have felt confident the whole way through. I think other people have tried to say that my confidence was gone or that it was affected but it hasn’t been.”

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The opportunity is there now for Gordon to put down a marker to stay in the team – a chance that hasn’t been lost on the goalkeeper.

It is unlikely that there will be chopping and changing between Gordon and De Vries and as such it is over the coming weeks that he will have a chance to stake a claim to stay in permanently.

“Whoever is in better start putting in the performances,” said Gordon. “If they can do that then they are going to keep the place. It was a good point for us against Manchester City so we will see who the manager selects and then take it from there.

“Of course I wanted to play in every game – as every player does. But I recognise that it is his decision but our relationship has been fine. I am now working hard and trying to put into practice what he wants from a goalkeeper.”

Brendan Rodgers remarked this week that he had perhaps put De Vries in too early, something that Gordon admitted he enjoyed hearing – although he has maintained that the relationship between himself and the Hoops boss has been unaffected by his recent spell on the bench.

“It was nice to hear that but I have had a good relationship with the manager the whole through, that has never been a problem,” he said.

And however it came about, Gordon was delighted to feature in his first Champions League group game on Wednesday night.

Having faced a possible early retirement at one stage because of his injury issues, the game carried additional weight for the stopper.

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“To manage that at the age of 33 was a special moment for me,” he said. “It was special too because it was such a great game of football and I felt proud to have been involved in it. We’d have liked to have taken all three points but it was an incredible effort against a top quality side and I think we were happy with a point.

“It really was right up there. The noise and the atmosphere was phenomenal. There were a few through balls when I was screaming at Kolo to leave them and he couldn’t hear me.

But it was a good night for us. We will continue to attack and score goals and see where it takes us in the group.”