Long-serving Hendo recalls Turkish delight
IAN Henderson notched up his 500th career game at Plymouth last weekend and revealed the time he spent in Turkey proved a real turning point.
Henderson spent five years with Norwich City between 2002 and 2007 before dropping down the league with a year at Northampton Town.
His stay at Sixways was not the happiest and after his contract was terminated and a short spell at Luton Town, he decided to get away from the English game and headed for Turkey, playing for Ankaragücü.
“I probably learnt more about myself while out of the country. It was a choice I made, to go by myself and that was the turning point in my career, going away and realising where I was maybe going wrong, what I needed to work on,” said Henderson.
“I changed my whole outlook on everything. On my personal outlook on life and football. I’d hit a massive crossroads in my life and the only person who could change it was myself.
“Looking back, maybe I wasn’t ready, physically and mentally early in my career. It took me a little bit longer than most and I had to drop down the leagues, go out of the country and then come back and find my feet again. I came back and fortunately Aidy Boothroyd gave me a chance at Colchester. I never looked back, I spent three good years at Colchester and when that came to an end, a door opened at Rochdale in 2013.”
In Keith Hill, Henderson found a manager who shared his footballing philosophy and the pair have enjoyed a successful time at the Crown Oil Arena.
“At the end of the day it’s about enjoying the game and that’s what I do – at Rochdale I enjoy playing football.
“We have good synergy, me and the manager and I’ve said ti before, you wait your whole career to find a manager who you get on with, who you have a good understanding with and who shows belief in you. He has his own personal philosophy on how to play football and that is exactly how I personally want to play as well. So when you marry those two, it’s unbelieveable.
“I’ve looked after myself. I try to look after myself as much as I can. I was late in maturing but now I have brought consistency to my personal game and that is reflecting on the pitch.”
Henderson is clear on the advice he’ll be passing on to the young hopefuls out to make the grade at Dale.
“You have to stay focused on your end goals and work hard on a daily basis,” he said. “If you are good at something keep working on it and if you are not so good at something then you have to work even harder at that. It’s about staying consistent with yourself and have a massive belief in your own game.”