UNBELIEVABLE JEFF
It’s been a remarkable rise to Ireland stardom for key performer Hendrick
JEFF HENDRICK rides into battle against Wales tomorrow with his stock soaring and a firm belief his best is yet to come.
No harm either because with the stage set at Aviva Stadium, Martin O’neill is in desperate need of dragonslayers to step forward from his depleted squad. Handed his debut by Giovanni Trapattoni as sub in a friendly win over Poland four years ago, Hendrick has emerged from the shadows to become a dominant force in the side. Thriving under Martin O’neill (right) and Roy Keane, the last 12 months in particular have cemented his standing as a Green Army favourite. He was a Euro 2016 hero after stirring performances in France – most notably against Italy – and that shop window helped secure a first Premier League move with Burnley. Then on Sunday, he was just pipped to both the FAI Senior Player of the Year award and Young Player of the Year by his club-mate Robbie Brady. So in a week when O’neill has lost players hand over fist, Hendrick knows the onus is on him to step up to the plate once again. “I think I’m still growing and I feel like I’ve learned an awful lot in the last year – I don’t see a reason why I can’t keep learning and improving over the next few years,” he said. “I’ve just turned 25 so there’s more to come from me. I keep pushing myself every day and every week, trying to get better and trying to improve my game. “Hopefully we see the benefits of that in the next few years. I’m one of the youngest here at 25 – there’s a lot of older players and there’s a good mix of ages. “A lot of people in the squad take control and that’s the sort of group the manager has built where we’re all trying to give our input. “Obviously when you’re in the squad first you keep your head down. I’d just turned 21 when I got in regularly. “But the lads made me feel welcome and they’ve been brilliant ever since that day. I’ve felt comfortable with them. “We love meeting up and we really enjoy being around each other and we’ve a great laugh off the pitch. “Once we’re on the pitch we work each other hard, so I felt comfortable for a few years now. But I’m not one to shy away if I’ve something to say.” Hendrick will win his 30th cap tomorrow but knows he needs to improve his goal return in a green shirt. His early strike away to Serbia in the opening game of this qualifying campaign remains his only international goal. And it is something Roy Keane is on his case over as the former Ireland captain believes developing a scoring instinct will help Hendrick become a more complete player. At Burnley this season, he has bagged just two goals in Premier League wins over Watford and
JEFF HENDRICK taunted Gareth Bale and Wales last night by declaring: We shall not be moved. The Republic of Ireland are the pacesetters in Group D heading into tomorrow’s World Cup battle at Aviva Stadium. And Hendrick is determined for it to stay that way over the remaining six games with automatic qualification for Russia the ultimate reward. Ireland star Hendrick said: “We’re top of the group and we want to stay there. There’s a great feeling around the group from the summer. “We had some great results at the Euros and in qualifying. They are great memories but they are gone. “But we know what we can do on our day against big teams and we just have to go and show it.” Wales star, Chris Gunter denies that it is a game