CRAIG GORDON knows a fair bit about hot properties. He should, 10 years ago he was one of the hottest.

As the fresh-faced goalkeeper whose task it had been to keep the ball out of the Heart of Midlothian pokey up until that point – as well as Cowdenbeath during a previous loan – Gordon was catapulted into the stratosphere in the summer of 2007.

At the age of just 24, the Edinburgh man swapped Tynecastle for Tyne and Weir when Sunderland came calling with £9million, making Gordon the most expensive British-bought keeper.

A decade on and some things haven’t changed. While no longer playing in the Holy Grail – allegedly – of the English Premier League, Gordon has overcome adversity and a career-threatening injury to remain at the very top of the game.

Champions League nights, league wins and Scotland caps have all come to the gifted Gordon who now at 34 still shows no signs of slowing down.

During a chat while out in Dubai with the Ladbrokes Premiership leaders, he did reveal that his interested in housing and real estate could have been the chosen career path if he failed to battle back from a horrendous knee injury during two years of hell starting in 2012.

However, Gordon insists that a potential return to that interest when he eventually does hang up his gloves isn’t likely to happen any time soon as he continues to build his football legacy at Celtic.

"I was pretty focused on what I wanted to do,” he said. “I had a few other business interests that I might have gone into away from football, but it never got to that stage.

"I'd probably have gone into property and tried to make money that way. I'm interested in that sort of thing. But i don't think I could have afforded property in Dubai - it's expensive. Everything out here is expensive.

"My dad was a financial advisor so he always pointed me in the right direction. I'd have tried to continue to carry on with things he started me on.

"I'd like to play on but there will come a day when it will all have to stop - whenever that may be.

"I just want to keep playing and if the chance comes to go into goalkeeping coaching or management then I can think about it.

"If I finish up then I might get the bug after a year or two and want to come back into it."

Given how his career hung in the balance as a result of that torn patella tendon at Sunderland, one can understand Gordon’s want to squeeze every last bit out of his time as a player as he continues to defy his age at Celtic.

As already alluded to, Gordon has come accustomed to playing at the highest level, whether in domestic football, European football or on the international stage. It is this background, and an honesty to himself and his employers, that saw him give an open answer about the prospect of dropping down a standard or two as the years creep by.

"If I could manage to play to my 40s I'd love to do that. If I wasn't able to do it at the top level then I'd find it difficult to drop down the leagues just to keep playing,” he explained.

"I'd find it hard if I let myself down at times. Hopefully I can continue and not have to think about that for quite some time.

"It wouldn't be enjoyable for me if I couldn't keep my standards and was still keeping someone else out the team or out a job. If you can't keep standards then it's hard to do. When that day comes that will be me - but I've had that before so it doesn't hold any fear for me.

"This is already extra for me. It could and should have been me finished. I had a 60% chance to keep going and it was touch and go so this is definitely extra.

"When time is up, time is up. I'll enjoy this for however long it might last and that's great.

"Things can change so quickly, but with this season and Celtic having the option to add on another one we'll see what happens from there."

Gordon’s contract still has 18 months to run but the Parkhead club do have the option to trigger an extension to keep him in between the sticks. While this is clearly the keeper’s preferred option, how does he feel about perhaps going back to Hearts, where it all started, to finish things off?

“Well, you never know. If there came a time when Celtic no longer wanted me and that was an option and I still felt I had something to offer and could still play to the best of my abilities, then you never know.

“Anything can happen, you just never know. From what has happened to me in the past I know never to look too far into the future.

“At this moment in time I am so happy playing in this team and hopefully I can continue doing that.”

And what for the immediate future?

“To be playing in this team is just so enjoyable at the moment,” said Gordon. “This is a great bunch of boys and it's great what we have achieved this season.

“And it's how we've done it as well. That's what makes it so enjoyable and definitely spurs me on to want more of it.

“To be playing at this level and in this team for as long as possible.”