DEAN HENDERSON has revealed the joy, pain and frustration of his long journey that led him back into the England team.
The Crystal Palace keeper made his second appearance for the Three Lions in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Finland — four years after his debut against Ireland.
Dean Henderson made his first start for four years against Finland[/caption]
The goalkeeper’s friend George Baldock passed away last week[/caption]
Henderson, 27, was only told by interim manager Lee Carsley on Saturday he was being handed a long-awaited return, leaving his family in a race to dash out to Helsinki for the big occasion.
Yet the delight was mixed with sadness.
The one person Henderson would have dearly loved to be in the stands at the Olympic Stadium was his dad, Dougie, who passed away in the summer.
And he is still coming to terms with the tragic loss of pal George Baldock, 31, who died in Greece last week. The pair played together while Henderson was on loan at Sheffield United from Manchester United.
So while Henderson spoke with pride about a first ever start for England, it was understandable that on a couple of occasions his voice cracked and he was close to tears.
He said: “It has been four years since I played my last game for England.
“It just shows you can never give up and you’ve got to bounce back and be resilient.
“And I’m proud to have done that because it’s been really difficult at times.
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS
“I found out on Saturday during training that I was playing so it was a bit of a mad one. I wanted my mum, Yvonne, and my missus, Millie, to come out. So we were trying to do last-minute flights to get them here.
“I had to go all out and get them on a charter plane. But I did it because I knew that it was such a big thing for the family. My brother also came and my missus’ father, so it was nice.”
Asked who helped him through the dark times over the last few years, Henderson added: “My old man. Unfortunately, we lost him in the summer. It’d have been great for him to be here to watch me, so it’s been emotional.
“He didn’t miss any game. The journey that we went on was phenomenal. And I’ve just got to make sure it continues.”
Ahead of Thursday’s shock 2-1 Nations League loss to Greece at Wembley, there was a minute’s silence for Panathinaikos defender Baldock, who was found dead in a swimming pool at his villa in Athens.
Henderson, whose wife is also close friends with Baldock’s fiancee, Annabel Dignam, said: “I cannot believe it. I’m still numb from that.
“He was part of the group of lads we had at Sheffield United and he was a big character. So to lose him just out of the blue was such a shock.
“I am thinking about Annabel, his poor missus, and his young boy, Brodie. It’s such a shame. I don’t even know what to say. I’m lost for words.”
Those two personal losses for Henderson obviously put football into perspective.
Yet on the pitch, it had been a turbulent week for the England team and the uncertainty over Carsley, who cannot seem to make his mind up whether he wants the job full-time.
But Henderson insisted: “He’s fantastic. He wants us to play football, he wants us to play with confidence. He wants to control games of football.
“The boys are buying into that. Obviously, we weren’t at our best the other night — and even in some cases against Finland.
“But we have got to take responsibility and we’ve got to puff our chests out and show the confidence to get on the ball.
“He wants us to play out from the back, which is not something I do massively at club level.
“But you have got to flick the switch and obviously do well for him.”
Henderson also believes Carsley was right to be brave at Wembley and experiment by playing without a No 9 in a bid to cram in all his attacking midfielders — even though it was a disaster.
He said: “At the Euros, people were asking for that team. You’ve got to be ballsy and you’ve got to just give it a shot.”
