TALK OF THE HEND GETS MY GOAT

TODAY, LIVE ON BBC1, KO 4PM Dale skipper Henderson has sacrificed plenty to prolong his career but refused to be smeared in slaughtered animal blood while playing in Turkey

Henderson, the attacking midfielder who will lead Keith Hill’s League One strugglers against Tottenham in the fifth round of the FA Cup today, arrived at Spotland almost five years ago after spells with Norwich, Rotherham, Northampton, Luton and Colchester.

But it was a crazy six-month spell playing for Turkish club Ankaragücü that illustrates why facing Mauricio Pochettino’s Premier League big hitters doesn’t fill him with any fear.

“After leaving Northampton in 2009, I was at a crossroads in my life,” recalled the former England Under-20 international.

“No one in England wanted me so I went over to Turkey on a twoyear deal – and I found out very quickly that they do business a bit differently over there.

“Basically, I didn’t get paid, and I ended up having to file documents with a notary every day detailing what had gone on.

“At one point, we were taken over by the president of the other club in the city, Ankaraspor, and when he brought all his players with him we had about 100 players in the squad.

“The manager called me in and said ‘you’ve got to go’. I told him I wasn’t going anywhere until I’d been paid.

“And one day there was this mad scene when some people pulled up in a car and just started giving me bags of money to leave.

“My lawyer warned me not to accept any cash because it could be counterfeit.

“It was like something out of a comedy film.

“But perhaps the strangest thing was one day before training, I heard a goat. I turned around and thought ‘what is this?’

“They had slaughtered it on the pitch, hung it up to bleed out, and they were rubbing blood on each other’s heads.

“Turkey is a 99 per cent Muslim country, but I wasn’t having it when they tried to blood me. No chance.” Henderson, now 33, was looking for a club again in 2013 when Hill offered him a trial at Spotland. At the time he was contemplating quitting the game so that he could become a dentist. But Hill saw what he liked – and handed him the captain’s armband. Rochdale are struggling at the bottom of League One, but Henderson insists they won’t be fazed about facing the likes of Harry Kane and Dele Alli (above). He said: “We know that we’re the underdogs, but some of the boys played against Alli when he was at MK Dons and they said they dominated him.

“We’ve got nothing to fear against Tottenham.

“We will try to give ourselves the best opportunity by playing well, and playing at a high tempo, like the manager wants.

“We’re not sure if Harry Kane will be playing for them, but we won’t be fazed by it if he does.

“Kane is a world-class player, no doubt, but I think the suggestion that he is now one of the best players in the world is a bit far-fetched.

“And that’s not me speaking at all disrespectfully.

“I just think there are two outstanding players now who have done things others haven’t – Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

“They are the elite of the elite and a level above Harry Kane.

“But he’s scored a hell of a lot of goals, and he’s got six or seven years to get up to where those guys are now.”