Jack Hendry has endured a tough start in Celtic colours, and not many have been a big advocate of this Scottish centre back. The 23-year-old defender has been inconsistent with his performances. However, even Brendan Rodgers admitted that the club had given him more responsibilities than they would have liked as the Hoops have faced some injury issues in the centre back position. Signed from Dundee in January, Rodgers would have wanted to induct him into the first team slowly, but the manager hasn’t been able to do that.
Hendry recently opened up about the challenges he has faced playing at such a big club. The defender said,”It has been a tough time at club level for me personally but I always think that they make you stronger as a player and as a person. I am always looking for feedback on my performances whether that is from games or in training but I am always looking to improve. It has probably been the steepest learning curve of my career over the last six months. Every touch, every pass, every move gets analysed at Celtic so that is something that I have had to learn from. I need to embrace that.”
“It is difficult. Sometimes you have to stay strong and it makes you a bigger and better person. It is not easy dealing with disappointments but that is when you have to stand tall. I want to be put in and I want to play in those games(Starting tough games so early on in his career). If I am asked to play in a high stake game I feel I am capable of doing that and it is only going to make me better as a player. I do take confidence from playing at that level and getting that experience.”
The 23-year-old is still a work in progress and the Hoops faithful should probably give him time to prove himself. With the likes of Dedryck Boyata and Filip Benkovic also set to leave by next year, Hendry might have to take more responsibilities and this learning curve has cost the Hoops in a few games.
One cannot excuse him on the basis that he is coming from a different or lesser league as he was with Dundee before making a move to Glasgow. On paper, the move looked like a good one but Celtic would have wanted much better performances from him.
However, it’s still early days and he can definitely go on to improve. The Scottish international has all the major qualities which a centre back requires all he needs to do is stay concentrated throughout the game. For now, Hendry seems more suited to be a backup option than a main centre-half but if he continues to work on his game, the 23-year-old can establish his name and win over the fans at Park Head.
