1 week ago
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Jordan Henderson has admitted it will be a “bit strange” to face Liverpool for the first time on Saturday.
The midfielder left the Reds in 2023 and, after spells in Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands, returned to the Premier League with Brentford over the summer. This weekend’s encounter at the Gtech Community Stadium will, therefore, be the first time he has come up against many of his former teammates.
Andy Robertson revealed in midweek that he has not contacted his former captain ahead of the match. Speaking in an interview in Brentford’s matchday program, Henderson paid tribute to not just the quality of the players he shared a locker room with, but also their characters.
“It [facing Liverpool] is definitely something that I am looking forward to,” said the 35-year-old.
“Jurgen [Klopp] had the biggest influence on me as a player,” Henderson added. “That was down to his intensity and what he was just constantly demanding of me.
“He was like that with a lot of us — it was only maybe with one or two who got away with it. But that’s why we were so successful under him and won everything that we won.”
On Monday, Virgil van Dijk organized a squad meeting in the wake of the recent downturn in form, and the number of leaders in a squad that contains five international caps has been a talking point around Liverpool this week.
“Football’s not always easy and plain sailing,” said Henderson. “But I was very fortunate to have good leaders and good people around me in that squad, especially in the tough times.
“At a club like Liverpool, you’re expected to win all the time. So when you’re not, you need those good people around you and, thankfully, I had such good teammates.
“That was one of the best things about Liverpool: I know I wore the armband but there were four or five other captains in the dressing room alongside me. That was a big part of the success we had.”
Arne Slot paid tribute to Henderson ahead of the game, despite the Dutchman’s arrival coming a year after the England international had left Liverpool.
“Although I haven't worked with him, we're going to face Jordan Henderson, who, as I've been told, is the only Liverpool captain that lifted six trophies.
“In Holland, they cannot stop talking about how much Ajax is missing Jordan Henderson.
“That tells you how important he was for Ajax and how important has been for Liverpool, and how he now is for Brentford.”
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