Black Cats keeper Gordon always confident in his own ability

SUNDERLAND goalkeeper Craig Gordon insists he never doubted himself despite a difficult start to his career in England.

The Scotland international was catapulted into the limelight during the summer when Black Cats boss Roy Keane paid a British record £9 million (€11.9m) to Hearts to bring Gordon south of the border.

However, there were murmurs of unrest as the 25-year-old found the going tough during his early months on Wearside and at one point lost his place to understudy Darren Ward.

But having regained his place in the team, he has played a huge role in an improved run for Keane’s men who, despite having lost 10 successive away games in the league, have won five of their last seven at home — three with clean sheets.

That resulted in the fans singing Gordon’s name during the club’s last home game — a vital 2-0 win over Wigan.

Gordon said: “You trust your ability and you know things will turn around. Whether it is a lucky save or something, something will turn and then you can build on that.”

Keane was adamant when he briefly took Gordon out of the firing line that he would be back stronger for the experience.

The keeper freely admits making the transition from Scottish to English football has been a challenge, but is confident he has adapted.

He said: “It was always going to be a difficult season. Coming down from Scotland and into this league is a huge step for any player.

“Now that I have got a settled back four in front of me, that has helped as well, and hopefully I can push on now and continue improving my game.”

That process has been aided in no small part by the January arrivals of Jonny Evans and Phil Bardsley.

Gordon said: “ We are starting to see the signs of this team going forward.”