Henderson proud of Blues work

Saturday at 3.30pm was the time when the worst kept secret was finally revealed as Waterford United confirmed the termination of Stephen Henderson's contract with immediate effect. Rumours abound since the defeat to Monaghan United, the official announcement finally arrived.

“I’m disappointed and don’t think it was fair.” Henderson said, speaking to Extratime, confirming the sacking ‘happened Friday’ and admitting he only travelled to Waterford on Saturday ‘to give the van back.’

The Blues currently lie in sixth place in the First Division, ten points off the top spot. The inconsistent start to the season has cost the Dubliner his job after just five wins from the club’s first 12 games, the final game being a disappointing 1-0 defeat.

“I spoke with the chairman and he told me that members of the committee wanted to terminate my contract”, Henderson said. “This was on the back of the meeting I was called to in the Ramada Hotel on Thursday after the Monaghan match. It was just after the match and it was a bit emotional. They said silly things so I wanted to cancel the meeting so we did.”

“So I spoke to [Chairman] John O’Sullivan on Friday and he informed me of their decision to sack me. We’ve become good friends since I’ve come to Waterford and I hope to continue to be friends with him.”

“I was accused of getting players to ring radio stations and everything and I was disappointed with that to be honest.”

Henderson was in talks with players to possibly add to his squad as he looked to turn it around, but did he feel he would be able to do it?

“I have no doubt I could have turned it around. On Thursday it was my 100th competitive match at Waterford United. Normally you get a plaque, I got the sack.”

“We won 63 and drew 13, giving us a more than 75% undefeated. We’ve seen three finals, a semi-final and play-off. I have always put the club first. I could have demanded more money from last year. We spoke to 40 players, myself and John O’Sullivan, before the season started. The simple fact is that we couldn’t afford them and we lost some of them to Cork, Limerick and Shelbourne. Seven players we couldn’t afford, signed for those teams.”

“I had my eye on three players and I know if I got them then we could have at least got a playoff spot, I knew we were going to get stronger. But the thing is I didn’t want a 25 man squad. [Keith] Quinn and [Michael] Rafter left the squad. I wanted to replace the two of them and then another two to give us a 22 man squad.”

Henderson was also quick to quell rumours that he had resigned during the season already, insisting he was still up for the challenge and was still enjoying it.

“I just want to clarify this; I didn’t resign during the season. I spoke to John O’Sullivan after the Shelbourne match. I asked him did he want me to resign because they were looking under pressure, but I never offered my resignation to him and I didn’t want to resign. I did offer my resignation last season due to health and personal reasons. It is a lot of hard work but I was enjoying it.”

The lacklustre performance from some players may have been a factor in the sacking, and Henderson admits he does feel let down by certain players. The influence of the fans forum was also a hard one to take for Henderson when questioned about it, while some decision he felt weren’t made correctly.

“There’s definitely some players yeah”, he said. “But when players go back to the committee with stories...well that’s sore for me. That shouldn’t happen. The management committee should come to me with it if it happens.”

“But people making decisions off the back of a website [fans forum] is crazy. I do believe in these forums because it allows people to form decisions and discuss issues but decisions shouldn’t be made on the back of it.”

“We had Daryl Kavanagh for €50 a week last season and I was forced to release him. Daryl has been one of the best players in the Premier Division this season and I had a good relationship with him. We lost the league to Derry City by just three points, would he have scored the extra goals needed, maybe, but I had to release him because of the supporters. We’re there to work hard so I was disappointed with the decision.”

Despite not gaining promotion with the club, Henderson has brought the club to finals and semi-finals and a playoff spot last season, and insists he wants to get straight back in the game.

“I don’t want a break”, he said. “I’ve worked all my life but I may be forced to take one. I’ve kept financial security at the club, even making a profit some years, I’ve brought success to the club and I’m really disappointed. I didn’t have the worst budget, I’ve brought the club to finals and semi finals but I think the Kavanagh decision was key. I’ve spoken to a lot of the players from Saturday onward. They’ve been thanking me and I’ve been thanking them.”

The Cobh resident will no doubt be snapped up in the near future but remains disappointed at how his Waterford United tenure came to an end. “I’m proud of what I’ve achieved at the club but I haven’t been allowed to finish it.”