‘He’s delivered’: West Ham coach says Liverpool 31-year-old ‘great example’ for his country

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Stuart Pearce has raved about the leadership qualities Liverpool midfielder, Jordan Henderson, has in his locker.

The West Ham coach added that the Liverpool captain is someone who is an ‘example’ on the England stage and a player Gareth Southgate trusts ‘implicitly’.

Henderson started England’s 2-1 friendly win over Switzerland on Saturday and might just be rested for the visit of the Ivory Coast on Tuesday.

Given that these aren’t competitive matches, it then allows Southgate to see what the talent pool is like much deeper in the English waters.

Nonetheless, when discussing leaders, Pearce, who would have come up against Henderson on many occasions as a member of West Ham’s coaching staff, spoke highly about the 31-year-old, as he told talkSPORT.

“The word ‘trust’ springs to mind,” said Pearce. “Any manager will tell you, anywhere in the world.

“If you work with a squad of players, then certain players will build up a trust. You have to understand what individuals are like around the training camp and around major tournaments. 

“All of those things play into the mix. There are probably 16 England players that Gareth will trust implicitly. For what they do performance-wise and what they stand for as men.

“If you are talking about an individual, as an example of that, then Jordan Henderson is a great example of it. He has delivered. He offers leadership and he has the trust of the manager for what he is.” 

Liverpool fans will probably be hoping that Henderson is rested for Tuesday’s friendly encounter at Wembley.

At the end of the day, it’s not a competitive game, and from a selfish standpoint, Jurgen Klopp and his players are right in the trophy mix heading towards the final few months of the campaign.

After winning the League Cup final against Chelsea, they are now hunting down Manchester City in the Premier League title race.

Not forgetting that the duo are also going to meet in the FA Cup semi-final next month, as well as trying to progress from their respective Champions League matches.