Speaking exclusively to BOYLE Sports, former Ireland midfielder Jeff Hendrick gives his assessment on Finn Azaz's struggles at Southampton and if he can recover from his poor form. Jeff also slates the owner of former club Sheffield Wednesday as being "chaotically run" and if fellow Irishman Noel Hunt is the right person to solve Readings issues.
Hendrick also spoke honestly about his regret of an unfulfilled dream to play for Celtic and how the COVID 19 crisis scuppered what could have been another dream move to Milan.
Elsewhere he gives his perspective on who could become the next manager of Rangers arguing that his former manager Sean Dyche would be a perfect fit for the club.
Finn Azaz
Finn Azaz
At Middlesbrough, he was brilliant, scoring goals and assisting, making a name for himself in the Championship. His move to Southampton was a big-money transfer for a Championship player, potentially rising to £15 million. This might put some pressure on his shoulders, especially as he's a down-to-earth person.
Moving to a different dressing room and across the country is a significant life change for him. He'll need to gel with the squad and adapt to the manager's tactics and expectations.
As an Ireland fan, I'd love to see him recapture the form he showed at Middlesbrough. It just takes time; some players hit the ground running, while others don't. The key is to get his confidence up and get him going.
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday
I've been able to see first hand how chaotically the club is run by the owner. There are brilliant, amazing people within the club, and some of the players I got on so well with are still there.
As I said, I was in a difficult time, and they really helped me through it. But it doesn't surprise me that they're in such a mess of a situation. The main surprise is that Sheffield United are in a similar position. They were 10-15 minutes away from being promoted last year. To see them in this position is hard to comprehend.
Then, sacking their manager, bringing in a new one, and then bringing the original manager back, it definitely makes you question how they're being run. It's just crazy and not good for either of the Sheffield clubs.
Noel Hunt
Noel Hunt
Noel's a great guy. I never really crossed paths with him until I was at Reading. He's such a friendly guy. He came in under difficult circumstances after we'd just been docked six points.
He did well, trying to get the lads going and bring in some positivity, but it just wasn't enough in the end. I really liked him. When he got the Reading job again, I looked at the squad, and it was full of kids. As I said, they didn't really have men in the dressing room, those older players who can lead.
Again, he did really, really well. I remember I messaged him in the summer because he had to basically interview for the job again. I said, ‘I hope you get it. I think you've done enough. You showed them enough with how well it went.’
And he got it in the end. Not going to lie, I did say, ‘I'm only around the corner if you need a bit of help.’ I think I was a bit too old in the end, which was interesting. Then I got a call for a player profile of Matt Ritchie, who's two years older than me. I just had a laugh. Obviously, I think having Matt in was great for the club. I know how he works, how he trains, so it was really good.
Getting back to Noel, I hope he does well. It's been a bit of a tough start for them, so hopefully, they can pick up. I like to see managers get a bit of time.
Celtic
Unfulfilled Celtic Dreams
Going up to Celtic would’ve been amazing. I went to Burnley and had four fantastic years. When my contract ran down, the options were the Premier League or abroad. In the end, with COVID and everything, it suited me to stay in the Premier League. I believe you should stay in the Premier League as long as possible; everyone knows that. I love Celtic, and I'm a Celtic fan, but the Premier League is significantly bigger than the Scottish League. I was only 28 at the time, so a move then just didn't suit me. At Newcastle, there was a time that I asked to go out on loan because I wasn’t playing. Even for the cup games.
Eddie Howe gave me one chance, I think it was against Man City, we were three-one down, and I got 10 minutes. I thought, ‘Thanks for that. What am I supposed to do here? Then I didn't play again. But then came a cup game, against Cambridge. A lot of us who hadn't been playing discussed that this was our chance. But he stuck with the same team, and inevitably, they got beaten again. So we were all fuming. A good few of us asked, ‘Can we go on loan?’ The answer was, ‘No, no, no, I want the squad together.
Then, on my birthday, January 31st, he called me and said, ‘You can go on loan.’ I replied, ‘Thanks very much.’ My wife was nearly seven months pregnant, so it wasn't great timing at all. When I talked to my agent, it was tough. It was the last day of the transfer window. The only options that suited me were Celtic. At the time, following my QPR stint, we were in the Championship. I was heavily linked with Middlesbrough. I just wanted out of Newcastle and thought, ‘Right, if I'm allowed to go on loan, I might as well go and get a fresh start somewhere.
Because I'm not going to be going out on loan to a lower team and come back and be a starter then. In the end, QPR were the only ones who could make it happen. But yeah, I did tell my agent that I wanted to go to Celtic and live in Glasgow, that's where my partner is from, or else down to London and be fully involved with QPR.
Milan
Milan Move Chance
It got to January, and my contract was up in the summer, and agents can start talking to clubs abroad.
There were negotiations with Burnley, it didn't look like I was going to sign. They were slow at getting back and were offering something we weren't happy with. It was back and forth, but really slow. So of course, you're going to go and see what's abroad.
Then my agents, I remember they told me, ‘AC Milan might be there,’ and I was thinking, ‘No way, they're messing with me. They can't want me.’ Even though I'd had four great years with Burnley, there was not a chance. However, the situation Milan were in, they could only take free players.
They didn’t have any money for buying players, so it probably suited them at the time. Then my agent flew over. I think he went to meet Paolo Maldini. They nearly got stuck because of COVID. It was me and another player I've actually never known, because it didn't happen, I didn’t want to know. But yeah, there was me and another player, who we were basically going to choose between. Then COVID struck, Italy was in a lot worse way.
We weren't trying even over here. I remember being with the agent and saying, ‘Have you heard anything from Milan?’ They said, ‘No, they're like full-on locked down. So then, when it came back to the league's opening up, I started off back training with Burnley. But then they had to offer us a deal, I think, by June. And they didn't get to where we wanted. It was me, Joe Hart, Phil Bardsley, and Aaron Lennon.
So the four of us went in one day, had a meeting. That was it. But credit to Sean Dyche, this was going on for a few months, and he kept coming out in the press saying he wanted my deal, he wanted to keep me at the club. He still played me every game. Some managers might take you out of the squad and think, ‘Right, you're not committing your future here,’ but he just wanted me on the pitch. So I can't thank him enough for that.
Next Rangers Manager
Sean Dyche To Rangers? Obviously!
Sean Dyche to Rangers? Obviously, the club would love to get someone like him for what he'd done at Burnley. Even going in at Everton, and he saved them. Everton were in a really bad way, and for him to go in and do that was incredible.
So yeah, I think he'd do great at Rangers, but I don't think it'd be the right job. If I'm being honest, I don't think it would be the right fit for him. I think he'd get a better job than Rangers, who are in turmoil a little bit.
Danny Rohl
Danny Rohl going to Rangers? I'd be surprised. He's a confident manager, tactically astute, and knows what he wants from his squad. From what I heard, he was one of the main coaches who had Southampton flying before he came to Sheffield Wednesday. You'll know from my previous comments how I ended up stuck there.
We're not close friends, but for me to still say how good of a coach he is, to tell everyone that he's brilliant at his job, I don't think he'd be looking at Rangers. I think for the same reasons as Sean Dyche, they've done enough to have their name held in high regard. Why would you go to Rangers when it's a bit of a mess?
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