A teenage Liam Kelly got a close-up view of Craig Gordon ’s punishing fightback from a two-year injury layoff as the goalkeeper went through a rigorous rehab at Rangers.
A decade on and the Motherwell skipper has absolutely no doubt his now Scotland colleague will again defy the odds to return from the double leg break that wrecked his Christmas - even at the age of 40. Kelly could be first in line to replace the veteran shotstopper when Steve Clarke selects his side for the start of the Euro 2024 qualifiers in March and insists he’ll be ready for national service if given the call.
And it could be a fluid transition as he admits 10 years on from his first brush with Gordon he’s still stealing bits of the elder statesman’s game to make himself better. Kelly’s double penalty save in Monday’s 1-1 draw with Livingston would certainly have caught Clarke’s eye. But the 26-year-old is refusing to look that far ahead as he voiced his support for glove rival and mentor Gordon.
Kelly said: “I spoke to Craig on the night it happened. I was just gutted for him. It’s a horrific injury. But I’ve got full faith that he’ll come back.
“He’s obviously dealt with setbacks in his career before. He’s an amazing goalie and a really good guy. I expect him to come back and be just as good as he’s always been.
“Age is only a number for Craig, isn’t it? You watch him every week and he’s unbelievable. He was at Rangers when I was younger.
"He did his rehab at Rangers and I was the under-20s goalie, and he did all the training sessions with me there. I’ve got a great relationship with him.
"We talk a lot when we go away with the national team, and he’s been a great help in terms of his actual goalkeeping abilities, because I try to watch him and try to steal things from his game. I fully expect to be playing against him when he returns. He’s got a great mentality.”
It’s approaching four years since Kelly got his first call-up to the full Scotland set-up and he’s still waiting for a first cap.
But he’s in good company with Zander Clark and Robby McCrorie also yet to climb off the bench while Jon McLaughlin has only two appearances under his belt.
Kelly said: “There are plenty of good goalies the manager could choose but that situation has never changed for me. I need to try to play well for my club, I need to try to play better for my club and try to improve as a goalie.
“And if the Scotland manager picks me for the squad, I’m unbelievably delighted. I’m over the moon and the club are obviously always supportive of that.
“If the manager decides to play me then I’ll be ready.”
Kelly’s penalty heroics to deny Livi’s Nicky Devlin twice helped Well to a point on Monday but the Steelmen saw Dundee United draw level on points in the relegation play-off spot.
The keeper was forced to repeat his spot kick trick after VAR judged he’d strayed off his line for the first save.
And he revealed he’d expected his brother Sean to be on Livi’s penalty duties. But he said: “I just had a feeling he was going to go back that side and I was glad I was right.
“Usually my brother would take it, but he’s missed a couple. That would be bitter-sweet.
“We’ve got a big game against Hibs now. We’re still positive, we’re still upbeat, we’re creating loads of chances.
“We’re hoping to tighten up a wee bit at the back and be better in both boxes, and hopefully the points start to accumulate and we’re better off in the league. We’re getting a wee bit more streetwise - if we’re not winning then we’re not losing it.
“And I think no matter who plays against us knows they’re going to have a really tough game and they’ll need to be at their absolute best.”
