It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was speaking about the possibility of Craig Gordon having to contemplate leaving Celtic to get first team football.
Dorus de Vries had arrived at Parkhead and, as a Brendan Rodgers signing, it looked like he was in pole position to make the number one jersey his for keeps.
What’s happened since shows how quickly things can change in football, and now Craig’s got a new three-year contract.
Far from having to try and find himself a move in January – probably to a smaller club than Celtic – he had Chelsea interested in him.
Some people try to diminish that but, even if he played the cup games and was on the bench for the rest of the time, it would still be a hell of a transfer.
If de Vries had played consistently well, it would have been a different scenario.
But Craig deserves huge credit for taking on board what Brendan wanted him to improve, and he’s been outstanding over the last few months.
I didn’t actually think he was weak with the ball at his feet in the first place but he’s definitely got even better.
We’ll never know what Craig’s decision would have been if Celtic had accepted an offer from Stamford Bridge but there’s every chance he would have chosen to stay where he is anyway.
If he’d moved, it would probably have put his Scotland place in jeopardy after he’s just got back into Gordon Strachan’s team.
After facing up to the possibility of injuries ending his career, Craig will appreciate playing games more than most.
And It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s Celtic’s goalkeeper for the next four or five years.
* Pedro Caixinha seems to be the man everybody expects to be the next Rangers manager.
If it gets confirmed before the Celtic game at the weekend, there are opposing views about whether he should take the team straight away.
From a football point of view I think he should obviously be in the ground, and maybe speak to the players beforehand.
But he doesn’t know enough about them yet to come up with the tactics or change things from the dugout. That should be left to Graeme Murty.
Whoever is on the touchline, I can’t see it changing the result. It will be a Celtic win.
* The game against St Johnstone isn’t the most important derby for Dundee fans but it’s a fixture I always enjoyed.
There’s always a good atmosphere and Dundee bring a big support along the road.
I know that they won well at Fir Park in their last away game and that Saints have had some poor performances at home but I’d be happy with a point from a Dundee point of view.
* There have been some great tributes to Tommy Gemmell over the last week or so, all of them thoroughly deserved.
It was one of the nice things about Celtic that the Lisbon Lions were regularly in and about the place in my time there.
Following the news about Billy McNeill, it’s been a sad start to the 50th anniversary year.
Tommy’s contribution to Dundee has also quite rightly been spoken about.
Dundee do a fine job of remembering their old teams, and you can see Tommy’s picture on the walls at Dens. His achievements will never be forgotten.