Jordan Henderson has not experienced a smooth journey to the top and he has credited one of Brendan Rodgers’ forgotten men for helping him find “who I was in myself.”
It’s been more than 11 years since Henderson signed for Liverpool, kickstarting a career at Anfield that has seen doubts and questions thrown his way, all of which he has answered.
It has not made for a smooth journey throughout his 449-game Anfield career, with his early days shaking his confidence and leading to him seeking out renowned sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters.
Peters was turned to by Brendan Rodgers in 2012, with the Liverpool manager an advocate of the mental strength of not only an individual player but the collective.
And after struggling to lay down a marker and seeing himself considered as potential transfer bait in exchange for Fulham‘s Clint Dempsey, Henderson sought out Peters and the help he could provide.
In a new documentary entitled ‘Jordan Henderson is Never Done‘, Henderson explains what led him to Peters and the significant influence it had on his career moving forward.
“Looking back now, when I was 20, 21, I was very, very introverted,” Henderson explained.
“I wouldn’t want to speak to many people about things and wanted to deal with a lot on my own and sort things out by myself really, that’s the way I always wanted to work.
“I ended up speaking to Steve Peters, who came into the club out of the blue when Brendan was there.
“He [Peters] basically had a meeting with all of the players and said ‘I’m here if anyone needs to speak about anything’ and said he could help, maybe not with football, but with how players feel in general and morale.
“I couldn’t really lose anything and I didn’t feel great so it was worth a shot and worth speaking to him.
“From that moment, I feel as though that really helped me find who I was in myself.
“For me, it was a big moment in my career that I met Steve and he gave me the right tools to use and the right mentality to use to get myself out of a mindset where I wasn’t feeling as confident as I was before I came to the club.”
It’s an honest admission from Henderson, who has been an advocate for mental health and well-being for some time, and whose first step in opening up set him on course for a different trajectory.
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