Redknapp: You can always count on Henderson to give his best

Jamie Redknapp believes that Jordan Henderson has well and truly come to grips with the leadership role at Liverpool.
 

The wearing of the captains armband at a club like Liverpool is a great honour, but with that comes immense responsibility.

Everything you do on the pitch and the way you handle yourself is analysed to the nth degree.

Henderson certainly would have been honoured to firstly play and learn from a icon like Steven Gerrard, and then take the mantle from him when the talismanic figure left the club.

But he would also have prepared himself for the fact that the spotlight was to shine ever brightly, and as a player who had plenty of sceptics among the fan base, it would be an even greater challenge to prove them wrong.

A player who knows what it is like to be in this position is Jamie Redknapp.

The Daily Mail reported the former Reds midfielder as saying:

“Henderson taking over the captaincy from Steven Gerrard was up there with the toughest of jobs in football. 

“It was like taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager. 

“No one will ever replace Gerrard, really. How do you follow the King of the Kop?

“You don't want to follow the man. You want to follow the man who followed the man.
 

The Sky Sports pundit touched on the tough road that the former Sunderland man has had to this point.

“A lot of people might just see the letter 'C' alongside a name on the team sheet and think nothing more of it.

" But I know what the pressure of pulling on that armband is like. 
 

“Henderson was under pressure. There was expectation on the England midfielder, and he got a lot of stick at times. He had his haters, but he has hushed them all."

Henderson celebrated a milestone against Arsenal as it was the 100th time he had worn the captains armband for the Reds.

Redknapp says that while lacking the natural brilliance of his predecessor, he makes up for in his workrate.

“I have never been to watch my former side and left thinking Henderson did not have a right good go. 

“At the very least, he puts in a shift. You can always count on him to give his all.

“He has not got Gerrard's X Factor in midfield, but who has? He was one of a kind. 

“But Henderson is still worth his weight in gold for what he offers Liverpool, on and off the pitch. 

“He does what he does brilliantly. He's not flash, he's not flamboyant. He just does his job."

Redknapp believes that as unlikely as it once seemed, the England international can create his own legacy amongst some iconic leadership figures.

“On June 1, he won the Champions League in Madrid after his team beat Tottenham. 

“That saw him become only the fifth Liverpool captain to lift the European Cup, following on from Emlyn Hughes, Thompson, Souness and his predecessor Gerrard.

“Now he will want to become their first captain to clinch the Premier League.”

And that would be one hell of a story in itself.