Jordan Henderson believes his all-around game has got better over the past two years — and he puts his development in the main down to the arrival of Brendan Rodgers.
When Rodgers arrived in June last year, Henderson had already racked up 48 appearances in a single season at the club.
But the midfielder had to wait until November 22 to start a game in the Barclays Premier League during the 2012-13 campaign.
However, five goals followed in the new year as Henderson cemented his place in Rodgers’ starting XI — and he’s played every minute of the Reds’ league season so far.
“I feel as though I’ve progressed over the last year or two,” Henderson told Liverpoolfc.com. “I’ll try and push on. The manager has been brilliant with me and everybody else here. He’s been fantastic on a personal level. I think I’ve improved my game since he’s come to the club and he’s helped me to do that.
“We worked very hard preseason and then in the games we have looked pretty solid as a team. The manager has definitely been working on that during the preseason. Last three home games, we’ve done really well.”
Wins against Stoke, Aston Villa and Manchester United have propelled Rodgers’ side to the top of the table after three games.
Henderson could probably have had a hat-trick of goals on the opening day against the Potters, but he made no mistake against Notts County in the Capital One Cup, firing the last goal in Liverpool’s 4-2 win.
The player insists he’s pleased with his performances this season, but knows he can still hone aspects of his game over the international break in time for Swansea on September 16.
“We’ve got a lot of momentum after the first three games of the season,” said Henderson. “A lot of the lads are now on international duty, but from the people who are here, there’s a good aura about the place and hopefully when the lads come back, we can focus on Swansea.
“There’s always room for improvement and I’m sure we’ll work on that. But we’ve got to be very pleased with the three results. We’ll continue to keep working and keep building by working hard on the training ground.
“Beating Manchester United gave us a great boost and it kept the winning mentality and the momentum going, but we know that it’s going to be difficult in our next few games, so we’ll have to keep focused and hopefully we can keep putting in performances like that.
“I’ve been happy with the way the first three games have gone, in terms of my own performances, but there’s always room for improvement. There’s a few things I want to change in my own game, but I tend to keep them to myself, privately.”
Photo via LiverpoolFC.com
