Euro 2016 painful to watch, says Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon

Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon admits he will not be watching many games from the Euro 2016 finals - because it still hurts that Scotland missed out.

The tournament kicks off on Friday, when hosts France face Romania.

Asked if he will be watching any of the television coverage, Gordon, 33, said: "Not all of it. Bits and pieces.

"It is annoying not to be there. I don't think I'll watch every match, but I'll probably take in a few now and again."

Scotland had been in a three-way tussle at the top of their qualifying group until a defeat in Georgia disrupted their momentum.

Gordon Strachan's side finished fourth behind Germany, Poland and the Republic of Ireland, the latter qualifying through a play-off.

'Look to the next campaign'

"It is difficult when the games are on TV over the summer and you won't be able to escape it whether you want to watch it or not," Gordon told BBC Scotland.

"It is disappointing - we had an opportunity and we weren't able to take it.

"We did put ourselves in a decent position, but we just failed to get over the line and, to be fair to the other teams in the group, they came up with big performances and big results right at the end when it really mattered.

"As a player, you've got to try to move on and look to the next campaign."

Gordon had been rested as France put three goals past Scotland goalkeeper David Marshall

Gordon was left out of Strachan's squad for this month's friendly defeats by Italy and France, with the goalkeeper and his Celtic team-mates having an early start to the season.

"Personally, having been left behind to rest was probably good for me and hopefully it'll stand us in good stead going into the Champions League qualifiers," he said.

"Hopefully, if I can do well, I can force myself back into the Scotland team as well."

'A difficult task'

Gordon admitted that Scotland's displays against the Italians and French were "disappointing".

"But you are playing against teams preparing for championship matches, so it was always going to be a difficult task and a hard time to play those teams," he stressed.

"Unfortunately, we probably didn't do as well as we could have done."

Gordon did not take offence to Strachan's suggestion that Scotland's current crop of players lack the technique to compete at the top level.

"I think he is being honest," he added. "He has said it a few times that we don't have a superstar and it's a long time since we have had and it's about grinding out results.

"The previous two games were 1-0 wins against two good teams [Czech Republic and Denmark] and it seems the way we can win games is by doing that."