Jeff Hendrick has defended himself against the suggestion that he has failed to deliver for Ireland since the European Championships, insisting that he has not been helped by having been repeatedly played out of position before Mick McCarthy took over.
“I hear the outside noise and people saying they haven’t seen me since the Euros,” says the Dubliner, who was one of the team’s outstanding performers in France three years ago. “Everyone has their own opinion, but I have played a lot of games since then in other positions.
“I try to give everything for the country, but it’s difficult when you’re playing in a different position to what you’re naturally good at. I try to do my best for the team. But like I said, it was tough. I was playing on the right, at times I was nearly up front as well, so I was just trying to adapt and just do what I can for the team.”
McCarthy, the 27 year-old suggests, arrived into the job with a clear idea about where Hendrick should be playing and that, he feels, has fitted in well with his own sense of where he can best deliver on his potential.
“He said, ‘I know you’re a central midfielder’, so I’ve played there. I’ve played there in the games under him and in training as well and I’m enjoying it. That’s where I want to be and he’s playing me there. I’m the type of player who wants to play in the middle and get on the ball.”
Assuming he starts on Thursday, which is pretty much a given, Hendrick will earn his 50th senior cap against the Swiss and still looks back at the opportunity he was given by Martin O’Neill on one of the game’s biggest stages as the highlight of his time so far with Ireland.
“It’s hard not to look at the Euros, for the occasion,” says the former Derby County star whose first international game as a young fan was perhaps McCarthy’s finest ever moment in the job; the 1-0 win over Holland that paved the way to World cup qualification back in 2001. “I enjoyed the game against England away, the atmosphere was good. There’s a lot of games in there really; obviously Germany at home for the result, but, overall, I’d have to say the Euros.
“I’ve enjoyed it, though. To play nearly 50 times for your country has been brilliant. It has been tough as well at times - we have had some not-so-good games - but I try to remember all the positives from each game, the results that we’ve got, and there have been some very memorable ones.”
His status as a regular starter looks secure for the foreseeable future under McCarthy but he has slipped out of the starting line up for his club, something he feels is simply a matter of waiting for his opportunity to get back in and then being well prepared to seize it.
“I’m not really concerned,” he says. “It’s still early in the season. I probably played the most minutes in pre-season out of our whole squad; I was playing in every game which was really good for me. At the moment he is sticking with the lads who were starting at the end of last season, who did really well and kept us in the league, pretty much. He’s showing faith with them and they’ve got off to a good start.
“So I’m fine, I’ve been working extra hard and doing extra every day, just to get the manager’s eye to get back into the team. In the last two weeks I played the full game in the Cup; I played a reserve game on the training ground so I’ve been making sure I’m ready.”
Hendrick trained with the rest of the squad at Abbotstown on Tuesday with Kieran O’Hara the only player still to arrive in as the 23 year-old has stated at Burton for tonight’s English Trophy game against Crewe Alexander.
