Ian chasing more than milestones
IAN Henderson will be looking to cap a season of personal milestones with a successful finish as Rochdale head into the final two games of the season looking to secure the final play-off berth.
Dale head into today’s derby clash against Oldham at Boundary Park just three points behind sixth-placed Millwall.
Dale remain the outsiders, but having scored twice in Easter Monday’s 2-0 win against Coventry, Henderson insists they are still in with a shout.
“It was a real good win, it’s always difficult against a side that has already been relegated,” he said. “It was a professional win in the manner that we went about our
‘The goals have just started to flow a little bit more so in recent weeks’
business and it was great to have scored two goals to get us the three points and to put us in good stead for the next two games.
“We’re still in the running, as they say”.
Henderson recently surpassed the 100-goal mark for Dale and also his 200th appearance for the club.
“I chalked up my one hundredth against Chesterfield recently and the goals have just started to flow a little bit more so in recent weeks.
“I’m always pleased on a personal level to score goals but it’s to do with the team and picking up three points against Coventry was paramount and we did the job.
“Over 200 games – they have been chalked up real quick! I signed for the club back in 2013 and it’s been an unbelievable journey. I’ve enjoyed all of my time here and I’ve played a lot of games in a relatively short period of time, so to have scored the goals that I have for the football club and made the amount of appearances, I am proud and I’m very, very thankful and grateful to Keith Hill for showing the love that he has for me and kind of admiration, so I’ve got ultimate respect for the manager and everyone at the football club.”
Dale were devastating at times against Coventry, with Henderson acknowledging the role fellow frontman Nathaniel MendezLaing has played in recent weeks.
“You’ve just got to look at the players that we’ve got in the squad,” he said.
“One player I will pick out is MendezLaing. He’s absolutely frightening when he gets the ball and there’s no stopping him because he’s a supreme athlete. He laid on a goal for myself and was a constant threat all game.”
Dale are joint third highest goalscorers in the league and the style of play is something Henderson has been proud to put his name to.
“We try and play the right way, play football in the right manner and all of Keith Hill’s team are renowned for playing good football, high intensity, attacking and scoring lots of goal and the current crop is exactly the same. It’s been good to play in the side this season and ever since I joined the football club.”