By Sam Bisby
13 May 2011 14:48:00
BPL, Sunderland and Aston Villa, Jordan Henderson (Getty Images)
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Sunderland‘s early ambitions of a top-ten finish may have been replaced by relegation fears in the second half of the season but midfielder Jordan Henderson claims the players on Wearside were never worried about slipping out of the Premier League.
A strong start to the campaign saw the Black Cats sat comfortably in the top-half of the table, but with a run of one win in 10 games between February and April, Steve Bruce’s side gradually found themselves getting closer to the realms of the bottom three.
However, Henderson insists there was never any worry of falling into England’s second-tier of football and believes that Sunderland have a lot to offer in the Premier League.
On being asked if the players ever thought the team would go down, Henderson told Absolute Radio: “No, I don’t think so, I think we’ve been pretty confident and we’ve got a good enough squad to handle ourselves and play well in the Premier League, and I think we’re showing that.
“We’ve had a bit of a bad run over the last couple of months, but Wednesday against Wigan and Bolton were good wins for us. But no, I don’t think that was in our mind, I think we’re more concentrating on looking up, and I think we can still do that now.”
On a personal level, Henderson’s season has been an undoubted success, having earned his first cap for England after a string of impressive performances for his club and the 20-year-old believes there is more to come as he develops as a player.
“I think it’s been a good season,” he said.
“Obviously getting the England cap was a massive honour for me and hopefully, if I keep working harder, I’ll get another opportunity, but I think on a personal level I think I’ve improved as a player and I’ve learned a lot, and hopefully I can carry on to do that and keep improving.”
Manager Steve Bruce has come under pressure at certain points of the season, but Henderson praised the former Manchester United player as well as his backroom staff and believes the 2011/12 campaign can eclipse the current one.
Henderson said: “I think the gaffer’s been brilliant and the staff, his assistants have been really good and been brilliant with the players.
“I’m sure it’ll be the same next season. Pre-season they’ll want us to do what we’re trying to achieve and how we’re going to go about doing that and get everyone on board, and hopefully this season will be better than this one.”
Sunderland play relegation battlers Wolves this weekend and the Black Cats still have hopes of a top-ten finish, but Henderson is aware of how fired up Mick McCarthy’s squad will be as they look to survive in the Premier League.
“Wolves will be a really tough game. I watched them at the weekend and they were really up for it and deserved to win the game so this week will be no different, they’ll be really up for the game, because they’re fighting for their lives really and we’ve got to make sure that we compete against that and we play just as well as we did last week.”
This Saturday Absolute Radio’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Football Live travels to The Stadium of Light for their feature game Sunderland v Wolves which kicks off at 12.45pm. An FA Cup Final Review Special will follow the game. You can tune in every Saturday on Absolute Radio extra – on DAB Digital Radio, 1215AM and online in the UK. Tune in for the full Jordan Henderson interview. For more go to www.absoluteradio.co.uk/football