Well-travelled Hendry on Clement bond, Gerrard and Saudi league
Scotland defender has added plenty of experience since leaving Parkhead
JACK HENDRY has packed a lot into his career to date, f rom his emergence at Partick Thistle to his current home in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ettifaq via League One in England, Dundee, Celtic, Australia, Belgium and Italy.
Along the way, the Scotland internationalist has played under more than a few managers who left a lasting impact on him, and none more so than a man he worked with at Club Brugge: Philippe Clement.
Hendry was hugely impressed by the Belgian and says that he had a significant influence on his game, with his attention to detail allowing him to take his defending to another level. It is no surprise to the 28-yearold, then, that Clement has had such a transformative effect on Rangers’ season since his arrival in Glasgow, with his relentless pursuit of success a perfect fit for the demands that come with the Ibrox job.
“He signed me,” Hendry said. “He’s had a massive part in my development. I was grateful to him at that moment, that experience in the Champions League brought my game on a lot as well.
“He was very good with me. I had a lot of one-to-ones, he showed me clips of different centre-halves and what he thought I could do and properly believed in me.
“I was disappointed that was cut short when he went to Monaco, but his pedigree speaks for itself and he’s a very good manager. He’s just a very good coach. He understands the game and he has that willingness to win, that winning mentality.
“We’re kind of similar in that way, he was very driven and wanted to succeed, and I think all of the players looked up to him and listened to him when he spoke, and appreciated him.”
Hendry currently plays under yet another manager with links to Rangers, of course, with former Ibrox boss and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard in charge of Al-Ettifaq.
“The gaffer, Gerrard, he has been very good with me also,” he said.
“He believes in me, and he has been spot on with me since I’ve been there.
“He was a big part in me going over to Saudi, I don’t know if I would have done it if he wasn’t the manager, but he has been very good with me alongside his coaching staff.
“Again, a different way of playing, but I’m really enjoying playing under him.
“Gerrard, obviously, his career speaks for itself. He was a captain and such a focal point of Liverpool. He still is, and his winning mentality is there to see every day in training and in games.
“His standards are extremely high, and it is really good to play under him.”
One of the main reasons that Hendry has flourished under Gerrard lies in the responsibility he has placed on the shoulders of the Scot.
“I’ve played every minute,” he said. “I’m really enjoying my football to be honest, he’s made me a real focal point in defence and I enjoy that, I enjoy being that kind of leader in the back four.
“In any team, it’s important to have that foundation, and from a defensive
We’re kind of similar in that way, he was very driven and wanted to succeed, and I think all of the players looked up to him and listened to him when he spoke
point of view in the league we’ve been doing very well, I think we’ve got the second-best defensive record.
“For me, that means a lot, and hopefully at some point we can be the best, but he’s probably given me a lot of responsibility to be a main part of that back four and I like that, I thrive off that.
“We’ve got a good relationship in that way, and with the other coaches out there.”
His pride in his side’s defensive record will no doubt be discounted by the many detractors of the Saudi Pro League, though Hendry is quick to point out that he is coming up against some of the best attacking talent in the world on a weekly basis.
Once the current international window is over, for instance, he will come up against Al-Ahli.
“Their f rontline is [ Roberto] Firmino, [Riyad] Mahrez and [Allan]
Saint-Maximin,” he said. “So those are high quality players.
“Obviously, if you are not watching it every week then it’s easy to look at it in certain ways, but if you look at the calibre of players that are playing on a weekly basis – especially in the front end of the pitch – it’s extremely strong and that’s only going to continue to grow.
“It’s a new league so everyone had their opinion on it. But I’m in it, I’m living in it every day.
“Even from my own club’s point of view, the difference from when I went out and what it’s like now is like night and day. The facilities are probably top Premier League. What we have at our disposal now, you’ve got no excuses.
“With the players that are there, our team’s come on quite a bit with the signings we’ve made.
“It’s just the world we live in, people always have things to pick at and nothing’s going to be perfect, especially in a league that’s evolving. But I can guarantee you that it’ll be one of the best leagues in the world. I’m not just saying that because I’m in it, I see it every day. I see the infrastructure, the stadiums, what their plans are.
“It’s going to be mega and I’m excited to be part of it. It’ll be really exciting to see where it goes as it grows.”
Holding his own against such a level of player has helped Hendry to not only improve his own game, but to take belief into matches against some of the world’s best international teams with Scotland, despite the recent run of bruising results continuing with the 4-0 loss to the Netherlands on Friday night.
If that scoreline didn’t accurately reflect the Scottish performance on the night, then neither, in his view, does the current run of six matches without a win reflect the potential of what Steve Clarke’s men can achieve at the Euros, and Hendry is adamant it hasn’t dented their confidence.
“I think that’s the group as a whole now, there’s no fear element, we’re excited to play against these teams,” he said.
“We came up against England and France recently, the results were disappointing but they were great learning experiences for the boys. We know we could’ve done so much better from a result point of view.
“I think it’s taking those experiences against Spain, England and France – the teams we want to be competing with – and learning from those. Hopefully we can switch those results into more positive ones.
“There’s nothing to fear and we want to be playing and competing against those countries and getting results against them.”