I'm still Scotland's No1 says Gordon

CRAIG Gordon welcomed the pressure Allan McGregor is putting him under in the Scotland set-up – but the Sunderland goalkeeper insists he will not be moved from his number one spot.

Gordon, 25, accepts Rangers' McGregor, who saved a penalty after coming on as a second-half substitute in the goalless friendly against Northern Ireland at Hampden last month, is pushing him all the way for a starting spot in George Burley's side.

But the former Hearts player, speaking ahead of the World Cup qualifying double-header against Macedonia and Iceland, is not ready to give up the gloves and believes "chopping and changing" would be counter-productive.

"Both of us will say that we both want to play," Gordon said.

"There is only one position there for us and it's up to us to fight it out for that place.

"But I think I've done well in recent games and in recent campaigns and it's up to me to continue that and make sure that I keep my place.

"You have to get an understanding with your back four and know what each other is going to do, and if you keep chopping and changing, you are not going to get that same understanding as you would with a constant selection."

To reiterate his point, Gordon – who came into the Scotland team when his then Hearts team-mates Steven Pressley and Andy Webster played together at centre-back – looked forward to taking his place behind Celtic duo Stephen McManus and Gary Caldwell when the Scots begin their qualification campaign in Skopje.

He said: "They have an understanding at club level, they know exactly what each other is going to do.

"When I first started my career at international level, I had Hearts players there and the three of us were at the same club.

"It's good to have that understanding."

The latest FIFA world rankings show Scotland remaining in 16th place, while Macedonia are in 56th spot, but Gordon stressed the visitors will begin their campaign with a tricky fixture.

He said: "It is going to be difficult because they are a good side and we know that.

"But we've got to have confidence in our own ability and we are going out there to win the game.

"We did well in the last campaign and that is a confidence booster.

"We've been watching videos and getting pep talks about the game but the main thing is that we need to concentrate on is going out there and getting the right result."

Gordon regularly faces some of the world's best strikers in the Barclays Premier League but the Sunderland keeper insists Macedonia's Lazio striker Goran Pandev will be no less of a threat than the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Fernando Torres.

He said: "Pandev is a good player but I wouldn't say he is better or worse than I've played against before.

"Italian football is still a very good. The top clubs get to the latter stages of the Champions League every season.

"We watched him on video in the last couple of games and he looks very strong and is probably their main threat.

"A lot of their play seems to go through him but it's up to us to counter that and make sure that it doesn't happen.

"They are a very capable side and we can't focus solely on him. They have plenty of good players."