‘We owe it to the fans’ says Henderson
Striker Henderson got his season underway with an early goal at St Mirren Park
Speaking after Berwick’s impressive 3-2 League Cup Round One win against Ladbrokes Championship side Alloa Athletic at the weekend, Blair Henderson has declared that it is up to the players to repay the fans for their patience following a frustrating campaign for the team last season.
“I think we as a team let last season fizzle out a little. We’ve added some real quality over squad over the Summer though, and now it’s up to us to make up for it. We’re all working hard to do it, and we know that we owe it to the fans.
“The morale in the changing rooms has been a lot better this season, and the squad is in great shape. You only need to look at Darren’s (Lavery) goal against Alloa to see the talent we have in the squad. It was a great goal, and one that he made out of nothing. I think we’ve got that quality, and that will be something that is key for us gong forward.
“The ability to play well as a team is important, but to have players capable of that indivudal bit of genius which can make all the difference in tight games is something that will stand us in good stead.
Henderson in action at Elgin City
It seems that Blair is aiming high this season, as he reveals: “The performances against St Mirren and Alloa have given us a lot of belief going into the season. I think if we can continue to replicate the performance levels of the St Mirren game, or the second half onwards against Alloa, we will give ourselves a good chance of being promoted.
“On a personal level, it was great to get my account up and running in Paisley. Scoring in a stadium like that in front of a few thousand and against full-time opposition is always a great way to start the season. It would have been better if we’d have held on, but I felt a few decisions didn’t go our way – that’s just how things go sometimes.
“Being a striker is all about confidence in my opinion, and goals are the best way to bring it. I don’t know about other strikers in the league, but I always set goal targets for myself. When I joined the club I wanted to make sure I had a goal to game ratio of a goal every two games.
“So far I’ve managed to do that – I’ve got 7 in 13 starts. I know that over the course of a full season that’ll be a difficult figure to keep up, but it’s a challenge I’m relishing. As long as somebody in the team is firing though, we’ll have the chance of winning games. I think we’ve got strong attacking options in the squad this year, so I think we’ll always be a threat.”
Henderson in action against Spartans last season
Looking ahead to the season opener against Montrose this Saturday at Shielfield Park (3pm kick off), Blair believes: “I thought that apart from the two goals we conceeded in the Alloa tie, we played well as a team in the first-half without ever really looking that dangerous going forward.
“It will be important to start faster against Montrose to avoid being caught out. Even at 2-0 down though, we never felt we were out the game. So if it doesn’t go to plan, we’ll fight till the end to give ourselves the best chance of getting the result.
