Jordan Henderson has explained in great detail how he’s managed to maximise his ability and become one of the best players in the country.
The Liverpool skipper lifted the Champions League last year and the Premier League this – winning the Football Writer’s Player of the Year award in the process.
Long gone are the days when Hendo is criticised by supporters as a technically limited, creatively uninspiring player.
Even those outside of Anfield now recognise his terrific leadership skills and his underrated footballing ability.
After all, he’s been an automatic starter for every manager he’s ever played under, including the world’s best: Jurgen Klopp.
“I gain confidence from work when I work harder than everyone else, whether that would be in the gym or the pitch,” he said in the documentary about Liverpool’s title win ‘The End of the Storm’, cited in the Mirror.
“That obsession has always been there from a young age. I never like to hear praise, I’m my own worst critic.
“I find it difficult to switch off from football. I’m constantly thinking about football all the time, thinking about how I can improve.
“When I was younger, when I went home from playing football, I would carry it home, it would still affect me in my normal life.
“When Jurgen came in, I feel he’s changed a lot for me personally as a footballer, but also as a human being and helped me to understand and look at things differently.”
Hendo was recently injured in international duty with England and has been sent back to Liverpool to recover – and we only hope he can do so in time for the clash with Leicester City on Sunday night.
We badly miss his communication when he’s absent and we hope he can play in the Premier League and then be rested in the Champions League midweek, instead.