Craig Gordon says he's happy to be joining Sunderland for their "stability".

Hinting at the regular management upheavels at Hearts, Gordon said: "There will be a lot more stability here at Sunderland: they do like to change the manager now and again at Hearts.

"That's just part and parcel of being at that club and it's something you have to deal with. It's not easy. It's quite difficult to just get down and concentrate on your football.

"There were an awful lot of things to deal with and that was part of my job as captain. There were things that went on that you wouldn't believe would happen at a football club, but that was something I had to deal with. I did that to the best of my ability right up to the final day. I gave my best for the club, no matter what the situation was.

"But it's not the time to talk about that. Hearts will sort themselves out and I can only wish them all the best for the rest of this season.

"They got a bad start against Hibs but I'm sure they'll bounce back and they'll still be up the top end of the league. There was a chance at one stage for them to break the Old Firm domination, but I'm not sure it's there anymore, certainly not at the moment.

"I think Hearts have the potential to do that with a large fanbase and if they are doing well. They could rival the big two and they could do it within a year. The standard of their squad isn't too bad and a few more quality players would see them get a bit of stability back."

Gordon is also hoping to explode the myth about Scottish goalkeepers being sub-standard and blaze a trail for more young talent north of the border to join English top-flight clubs.

On the subject of keepers from his homeland, he said: "That's just something that will run and run and has been about for ages, but I hope I can help that go away.

"I know there are not a lot of Scottish guys down here, but the national team have begun to pick up over the last few years and the better the national team does, the more teams in the Premiership will look at guys to come down here and improve their sides.

"I think, over the next few years, you might see a few more guys coming down and young boys coming through. If they do well in the national team, they will be looking to come down here."