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‘I want to be Manchester United No 1’ - Dean Henderson inspired by Chris Wilder’s ‘real men’ mantra
All the talk of whether Dean Henderson should be No 1 for Manchester United and England is a live, legitimate debate, a discourse that the confident 23-year-old is understandably keen on. “One hundred per cent,” he says. “I’m going to keep the pressure on.” Henderson is good, potentially exceptionally good, and anybody doubting the substance of his claims need consider only the memorable sequence of reaction saves he made against Norwich City in March, while on loan from Manchester United at Sheffield United.
Even now, six months on, viewing back the whirl of limbs in the six-yard box, it is hard to believe that Henderson keeps the ball from crossing the line. First, he pushes away Ben Godfrey’s powerful header, then he flings out a hand to stop Mario Vrancic’s effort from a yard out and finally blocks Josip Drmic’s follow-up.
“It’s instinct,” he explains. It’s muscle memory, too. “It’s many years of playing and training, picking up little skills and cues as to what’s going to happen next. Sometimes I think: ‘How the hell did I do that?’ It’s amazing, really. That’s what we train to do for those unbelievable moments and it paid off.’’
Everybody considers Henderson to be a newcomer but he was on the bench for Manchester United’s FA Cup fifth-round match against Shrewsbury Town in 2016. At 18. But he didn’t want to look and learn. He wanted to play and learn, to hone that “instinct”. His apprenticeship took in Stockport County, Grimsby Town and Shrewsbury Town, then two lauded seasons with Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United. Those natural reflexes were sharpened during 127 league appearances across all four tiers of the professional pyramid.
It was after that triple save that Wilder said of Henderson: “His concentration levels are fantastic. He’s got a huge desire to take his game to the very top. He’s a confident boy, he’s not shy, but he backs it up.”
As usual, Wilder was right. Henderson is not short of confidence. “No, not at all!” he says, speaking via Zoom from St George’s Park, where England continued training yesterday in advance of Saturday’s Nations League qualifying match in Iceland.
“For any young goalkeeper it’s 80 per cent mental. I know it sounds weird but going out and having to prove yourself, go the long way round and go up through the leagues, you’ve got to have a bit of an edge. I believe I’ve got that edge. I’m happy with who I am.”
He needed that edge, having been thrown in at the deep end in the National League North for Stockport against Nuneaton Town (now Borough) in January 2016. Even the Stockport match report referred to a “rush of blood” from their debut-making loan signing, who was “massively out of position” as Rob Duffy scored for Nuneaton. “Stockport was the hardest loan spell of my life,” Henderson says.
“I remember there was a big guy, first minute of my debut for Stockport, who said: ‘Put it on the keeper, he’s pooing himself,’ and I thought: ‘Oh God’.” Within 20 minutes, a free kick came in. “I’ve gone for the cross, I’ve completely missed it [Duffy headed the ball] and it went in the goal. I wanted to be swallowed up.” Mistakes neither distract nor drain Henderson. “I dusted myself down and came back. I just kept learning.
“I went out from Man United five years ago [to] Stockport, Grimsby, Shrewsbury and then Sheffield, out on my own, picking up experiences that happen in games because they’re situations you don’t really get in training. I’m under no illusions that I’m going to improve by just sitting on the bench. I need that game time.”
His learning particularly accelerated with sustained game time under the demanding, inspiring Wilder. “I had a fantastic two years with Chris,” Henderson says. “He was a great manager, rough and ready, just what I needed. He put me in line when I needed to be put into line but really strongly believed in me, which is something I loved about him. He made me feel 10ft tall. He was great for me. I can’t thank Chris enough for what he’s done for me.”
When Henderson erred badly against Liverpool at Bramall Lane a year ago, letting Georginio Wijnaldum’s late shot through his legs, Wilder called him out. He told Henderson that if he wanted to be No 1 at Manchester United and England, he had to cut out such mistakes. Wilder then said the same in public.
“With the Liverpool one, I got ripped to shreds [on social media] and people kept talking about it, even towards the end of the season,” Henderson says. “I was thinking: ‘Surely that’s been put to bed?’ ” He’d already moved on, immediately keeping clean sheets against Watford and Arsenal, responding positively to his manager’s home truths.
Wilder’s dressing room sounds like a crucible where mettle is forged. “One hundred per cent,” Henderson says. “You have to stand up for yourself. I’m ready for any challenge thrown my way now. There were many times in the changing room after games it got heated between the boys but it’s just because we have a passionate group of lads and everyone wanted to win.”
They had a mantra: “Real men turn up to big events,” Henderson explains. “Chris Basham! Away at Elland Road [in March 2019], odds against us, no one believed we could go there and win but we turned up and won [through Basham’s goal]. We beat them to promotion as well so that made it even better.
“A lot of the boys say that: ‘Real men turn up to big events’. We’d say it when we went out just before games. We all turned up many times as well.” The battle cry sums Henderson up, too. “I’d like to think so. That’s something I model myself on. Don’t go hiding. Always there. Never shy away from criticism. Try my best.”
Now he is back from his loan odyssey, committing to the club until 2025, with an option for another year. “I feel like a new signing at Man United. I haven’t been in the building for five years.” But it’s been planned. On arrival at Grimsby at 19, he told people that he would be pushing for a United starting spot within four years. “I said, ‘At 23, I’ll go back and that’ll be my time’. I knew what I needed to do. I knew what I needed to tick off before I got there.”
Henderson is convinced that he has what it takes to become No 1 at Old Trafford, ousting David De Gea. He’s respectful but ambitious. “Listen, David has been a great goalkeeper for years. He’s been a phenomenal servant for the club. That’s something I aspire to be — to have a career like him at the club, so I’ll be working my socks off to get in that starting line-up because it’s something I’ve always wanted. I’m so close now. I’m not going to give up. I’m going to put the pressure on.
“I respect David. I know what challenges are going to be. I’m well up for it. You can get many things from training and learn off someone like David and the other goalkeepers and coaches. But I don’t think there’s any substitute for game time. Coming off a good season with momentum, it wouldn’t be clever for me to sit around and not play.”
He agrees that, to be No 1 with England, he cannot be No 2 at United: “Yes, I accept that.” As with De Gea, Henderson has huge respect for Jordan Pickford and Nick Pope, his England team-mates. “They’re both great lads. We get on well and push each other every day. I’m working hard to be Gareth [Southgate’s] No 1 but I know I’ve got to get past two very good goalkeepers. I’m still fighting for my first cap.”
The debate about his readiness intensifies. “I want to play for England and I want to play for Manchester United,” Henderson says. “So I’m just going to keep overcoming my little challenges, [reaching] my little goals and I’m sure one day I’ll get to where I want to be.”
LINK
All the talk of whether Dean Henderson should be No 1 for Manchester United and England is a live, legitimate debate, a discourse that the confident 23-year-old is understandably keen on. “One hundred per cent,” he says. “I’m going to keep the pressure on.” Henderson is good, potentially exceptionally good, and anybody doubting the substance of his claims need consider only the memorable sequence of reaction saves he made against Norwich City in March, while on loan from Manchester United at Sheffield United.
Even now, six months on, viewing back the whirl of limbs in the six-yard box, it is hard to believe that Henderson keeps the ball from crossing the line. First, he pushes away Ben Godfrey’s powerful header, then he flings out a hand to stop Mario Vrancic’s effort from a yard out and finally blocks Josip Drmic’s follow-up.
“It’s instinct,” he explains. It’s muscle memory, too. “It’s many years of playing and training, picking up little skills and cues as to what’s going to happen next. Sometimes I think: ‘How the hell did I do that?’ It’s amazing, really. That’s what we train to do for those unbelievable moments and it paid off.’’
Everybody considers Henderson to be a newcomer but he was on the bench for Manchester United’s FA Cup fifth-round match against Shrewsbury Town in 2016. At 18. But he didn’t want to look and learn. He wanted to play and learn, to hone that “instinct”. His apprenticeship took in Stockport County, Grimsby Town and Shrewsbury Town, then two lauded seasons with Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United. Those natural reflexes were sharpened during 127 league appearances across all four tiers of the professional pyramid.
It was after that triple save that Wilder said of Henderson: “His concentration levels are fantastic. He’s got a huge desire to take his game to the very top. He’s a confident boy, he’s not shy, but he backs it up.”
As usual, Wilder was right. Henderson is not short of confidence. “No, not at all!” he says, speaking via Zoom from St George’s Park, where England continued training yesterday in advance of Saturday’s Nations League qualifying match in Iceland.
“For any young goalkeeper it’s 80 per cent mental. I know it sounds weird but going out and having to prove yourself, go the long way round and go up through the leagues, you’ve got to have a bit of an edge. I believe I’ve got that edge. I’m happy with who I am.”
He needed that edge, having been thrown in at the deep end in the National League North for Stockport against Nuneaton Town (now Borough) in January 2016. Even the Stockport match report referred to a “rush of blood” from their debut-making loan signing, who was “massively out of position” as Rob Duffy scored for Nuneaton. “Stockport was the hardest loan spell of my life,” Henderson says.
“I remember there was a big guy, first minute of my debut for Stockport, who said: ‘Put it on the keeper, he’s pooing himself,’ and I thought: ‘Oh God’.” Within 20 minutes, a free kick came in. “I’ve gone for the cross, I’ve completely missed it [Duffy headed the ball] and it went in the goal. I wanted to be swallowed up.” Mistakes neither distract nor drain Henderson. “I dusted myself down and came back. I just kept learning.
“I went out from Man United five years ago [to] Stockport, Grimsby, Shrewsbury and then Sheffield, out on my own, picking up experiences that happen in games because they’re situations you don’t really get in training. I’m under no illusions that I’m going to improve by just sitting on the bench. I need that game time.”
His learning particularly accelerated with sustained game time under the demanding, inspiring Wilder. “I had a fantastic two years with Chris,” Henderson says. “He was a great manager, rough and ready, just what I needed. He put me in line when I needed to be put into line but really strongly believed in me, which is something I loved about him. He made me feel 10ft tall. He was great for me. I can’t thank Chris enough for what he’s done for me.”
When Henderson erred badly against Liverpool at Bramall Lane a year ago, letting Georginio Wijnaldum’s late shot through his legs, Wilder called him out. He told Henderson that if he wanted to be No 1 at Manchester United and England, he had to cut out such mistakes. Wilder then said the same in public.
“With the Liverpool one, I got ripped to shreds [on social media] and people kept talking about it, even towards the end of the season,” Henderson says. “I was thinking: ‘Surely that’s been put to bed?’ ” He’d already moved on, immediately keeping clean sheets against Watford and Arsenal, responding positively to his manager’s home truths.
Wilder’s dressing room sounds like a crucible where mettle is forged. “One hundred per cent,” Henderson says. “You have to stand up for yourself. I’m ready for any challenge thrown my way now. There were many times in the changing room after games it got heated between the boys but it’s just because we have a passionate group of lads and everyone wanted to win.”
They had a mantra: “Real men turn up to big events,” Henderson explains. “Chris Basham! Away at Elland Road [in March 2019], odds against us, no one believed we could go there and win but we turned up and won [through Basham’s goal]. We beat them to promotion as well so that made it even better.
“A lot of the boys say that: ‘Real men turn up to big events’. We’d say it when we went out just before games. We all turned up many times as well.” The battle cry sums Henderson up, too. “I’d like to think so. That’s something I model myself on. Don’t go hiding. Always there. Never shy away from criticism. Try my best.”
Now he is back from his loan odyssey, committing to the club until 2025, with an option for another year. “I feel like a new signing at Man United. I haven’t been in the building for five years.” But it’s been planned. On arrival at Grimsby at 19, he told people that he would be pushing for a United starting spot within four years. “I said, ‘At 23, I’ll go back and that’ll be my time’. I knew what I needed to do. I knew what I needed to tick off before I got there.”
Henderson is convinced that he has what it takes to become No 1 at Old Trafford, ousting David De Gea. He’s respectful but ambitious. “Listen, David has been a great goalkeeper for years. He’s been a phenomenal servant for the club. That’s something I aspire to be — to have a career like him at the club, so I’ll be working my socks off to get in that starting line-up because it’s something I’ve always wanted. I’m so close now. I’m not going to give up. I’m going to put the pressure on.
“I respect David. I know what challenges are going to be. I’m well up for it. You can get many things from training and learn off someone like David and the other goalkeepers and coaches. But I don’t think there’s any substitute for game time. Coming off a good season with momentum, it wouldn’t be clever for me to sit around and not play.”
He agrees that, to be No 1 with England, he cannot be No 2 at United: “Yes, I accept that.” As with De Gea, Henderson has huge respect for Jordan Pickford and Nick Pope, his England team-mates. “They’re both great lads. We get on well and push each other every day. I’m working hard to be Gareth [Southgate’s] No 1 but I know I’ve got to get past two very good goalkeepers. I’m still fighting for my first cap.”
The debate about his readiness intensifies. “I want to play for England and I want to play for Manchester United,” Henderson says. “So I’m just going to keep overcoming my little challenges, [reaching] my little goals and I’m sure one day I’ll get to where I want to be.”
LINK
