Jordan Henderson credits Brendan Rodgers backroom…

Jordan Henderson credits Brendan Rodgers backroom staff member with Liverpool career turnaround

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has credited one of Brendan Rodgers' behind-the-scenes additions as one of the reasons he succeeded after difficult first few years at Anfield.

Henderson was signed by legendary figure Kenny Dalglish in the summer of 2011 from Sunderland, in a window which is often regarded as one of the worst in the club's history when it comes to value for money.

As well as signing the then-Sunderland midfielder, Henderson, Dalglish signed Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam, Sebastian Coates, Alexandar Doni, Jose Enrique and Craig Bellamy for a combined fee of just over £50m.

Despite winning the League Cup, and later reaching the FA Cup final, it was a torrid season for the Liverpool manager and his crop of new signings as their shoddy league form saw them finish eighth. Which resulted in the legendary Scot being handed his marching orders shortly after the curtain had been drawn on such an underwhelming campaign.

At the time, 21-year-old Henderson struggled to find consistency following his £16m transfer from his boyhood club Sunderland, which resulted in rife criticism from supporters at Anfield and club officials, with the club's Director of Football at the time Damien Comolli reportedly being sacked for his wastings on the midfielder.

Even following the appointment of Brendan Rodgers in 2012, Henderson struggled to make a great impression on the Northern Irishman, who was keen to use the Liverpool man as a makeweight in a deal to sign former Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey.

The former Sunderland man refused to budge from Merseyside and has since performed one of the greatest individual turnarounds Anfield has seen as he's become the linchpin of Jurgen Klopp's trophy-sweeping side.

And now, the Liverpool captain has revealed the moment he sought mental support from elite-sport psychiatrist Steve Peters, who he credits with installing his previously lost confidence back in himself.

"Looking back now, when I was 20, 21, I was very, very introverted," said Henderson, s peaking in his new 'Never Done' documentary.

"I wouldn't want to speak to many people about things and wanted to deal with a lot on my own and sort things out on my own really, that's just the way I wanted to work.

"I ended up speaking to Steve Peters, who came into the club out of the blue when Brendan was there. He [Peters] basically had a meeting with all of the players and said 'I'm here if anyone needs to speak about anything' and said he could maybe help, not with football, but with how players feel in general and their morale. I couldn't really lose anything and I didn't feel great so it was worth speaking to him."

He added: "From that moment, I feel as though that really helped me find who I was in myself. For me, it was a big moment in my career that I met Steve and he gave me the right tools to use and the right mentality to use to get out of a mindset where I wasn't feeling as confident as I was before I came to the club."

Prior to working with Liverpool in 2012, Peters, who is a highly-regarded psychiatrist in the sporting world, had worked with the British Cycling squad and British Snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Since then, Henderson has gone from strength to strength at Anfield as he's spearheaded one of the finest eras in the club's history, which has seen him lift six trophies - including the Premier League and Champions League.

Additionally, the 32-year-old has become the Reds' most-capped player during the Premier League with 325 appearances. Which is only bettered by the legendary duo of Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard.

Henderson and Peters would work together once again in the summer of 2014, as the psychiatrist was recruited by the FA to work with the men's England team.