KERR’S U20s HONOURED
JURGEN KLOPP is set to benefit from taking the rare step of allowing an unfit Jordan Henderson to join up with England squad.
Henderson’s five minutes off the bench against Germany on Monday had no bearing on the England’s fortunes, but it was a significant step in the Kop midfielder’s recovery from a hamstring injury that had sidelined him for a month.
During that time Liverpool have had a shaky start to the season, with only nine points from six Premier League games.
Pushing
No wonder boss Klopp was happy for Henderson to accept a late England callup, and the player is pushing for a return to top-flight on Saturday against Brighton.
“It was nice to be back after a few weeks out,” said Henderson. “I had a good week’s training and it was great to get a few minutes against Germany.
“I’ll get some more training in this week and then I’ll be ready for the weekend.
“There are so many games to get in before the World Cup, so we’ll
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FUN TIMES: Henderson with young players in Liverpool need everybody fighting fit for as long as possible as we try and get through this period. We need to try to get back to the results and the performances we’re capable of.”
Henderson was crocked when Liverpool were beaten 4-1 at Napoli in the Champions League, but he revealed that defeat prompted some honest words.
“We spoke as a group after that game where we obviously didn’t play well,” said Henderson, speaking at a
McDonald’s Fun Football session in Liverpool.
“The manager spoke to us and we went over a few things. Then we reacted in the right way from that point, both in training and in winning the Ajax game.”
Brighton visit Anfield under new boss Roberto De Zerbi and Henderson says the extra effort their players will put in to impress him will make for a tough afternoon.
Tough
“This is a big game for us and it will be tough as well because Brighton are a very good side, as they’ve shown over the start of the season,” said Henderson. “Graham Potter did an amazing job there.
“They’ve got some great players, they’re a really good team and difficult to play against as we’ve found out in the past.
“They’ve now got a new manager which normally would give them a lot of energy. Players will be right at it I’m sure of that — so we need to make sure that we are as well.”
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BACK IN ACTION: Henderson gets a late England run out against Germany
BRIAN KERR’S Malaysian Marvels were honoured at the Aviva on Tuesday night ahead of Ireland’s Nations League win over Armenia.
It’s 25 years since Kerr led the team to third place in the Under-20 World Cup.
The side included Damien Duff (not pictured), Dessie Baker, Trevor Molloy, Glen Crowe, Thomas Morgan, Alan Kirby and Colin Hawkins.
Ireland’s run included a quarter-final win over Spain, while a semi-final defeat to an Argentina side that included Juan Riquelme and Pablo Aimar ended their chances.
They did win bronze, however, thanks to their third-place playoff win over Ghana, secured thanks to goals by Baker and Duff.
St Pat’s handed the ex-Birmingham City defender a new and improved contract in May but Clancy expects interest in the 22-yearold to ramp up.
“I’ve no doubt there will be other clubs interested but we’re trying to build and he’s a major part of that,” said Clancy.
“He’s a brilliant age profile for us at 22, and he’s the captain. We want to get three, four or five (new players) in for next season that will strengthen the squad.”
Chris Forrester had been the St Pat’s skipper but Redmond was handed the armband after just a handful of games this season.
Quizzed on the Derry clash at Richmond Park, Clancy added: “It’s a huge game. We want to put right the fixture here earlier in the season when we were beaten 4-0.
“It was probably our lowest point of the season, but we’re on a good bit of form since the break and we’ve won five on the bounce.”