Henderson: Day I lost captaincy

GARETH SOUTHGATE told Jordan Henderson that he had lost the England captaincy race just four days before the Champions League final.

Henderson went head-to-head with Harry Kane for the armband with many backing the Liverpool captain for the role.

But Henderson revealed yesterday that Southgate called him to tell him that Tottenham striker Kane would lead the country before Liverpool’s defeat by Real Madrid in Kiev.

‘The manager rang me on the Tuesday in the week leading up to the final. I wasn’t thinking about it because of the final and that is where my focus was,’ Henderson revealed. ‘When the gaffer told me I was really pleased for Harry and he is a fantastic player.

‘Whether or not I am captain doesn’t matter, there are plenty of other leaders. Gareth is big on that and we don’t want to put too much pressure on Harry. That is important for Harry and for the group.

‘Everyone is on board with what the manager is trying to do and to create leaders.

‘He wants us to lead the group and take ownership and do it ourselves more.

‘He has brought that to the camp and that will help certain players. It has a great feeling about it and hopefully we can show that in Russia.’

After heartbreak in Kiev, Henderson and Liverpool teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold were granted extra time off.

‘It’s been difficult over the last 10 days. It was hard to take,’ he said. ‘I’ve had a little bit of time off and time with the family, which was important. It was good to get my head around it and have some down-time to refocus on what is important and that is the World Cup now.

‘That is where the focus has got to be. It is a good thing, I get straight back to business.’