Celtic's Liam Henderson open to rekindling love affair with Hibernian
Sunday 20 November 2016 15:22, UK
Liam Henderson says he would be happy to return to Hibernian - and admits he still loves to reminisce about their historic Scottish Cup win last summer.
Henderson is now back with parent club Celtic and trying to force his way into the first-team picture. He has made just two starts under Brendan Rodgers, but is learning new techniques from the star-studded squad at Lennoxtown.
However, should things not work out for him in Glasgow, he would be happy to rekindle his love affair in Leith, where he spent the whole of last season, playing a pivotal role in the Hampden heroics.
"It's weird, this relationship between Hibs and me," he told The Scotsman newspaper. "It's like I've split up with my girlfriend but am still in love with her.
"I think about the final a lot. It's brilliant to watch back if you're sad about something and even better if you're happy. I've returned to Celtic because I want to try and make a go of it with them but I love Hibs and want the fans to know that and how much I love them. Would I want to play for them again one day? You bet - a hundred per cent."
Henderson took the two corners that led to the two headers that ensured the Cup returned to Easter Road for the first time in 114 years, and a lot of planning had gone into the execution of those flag-kicks.
He said: "I've always fancied myself at dead-balls - I like hitting them. The main thing was that [James] Tavernier was weak at defending corners - he cannot head the ball - so that's where the first one was going.
"I love reading about dead-ball technique. How did [Andrea] Pirlo do it? That kind of thing. I'm back at Celtic now so I've been asking Scott Sinclair from his time at Chelsea how [Didier] Drogba did it.
"But a good corner needs a good header and Stokesy produced a great header. For our winning goal I knew I wasn't going to hit Stokesy again (2-2).
"Surely Rangers had wised up. So - exactly the same routine although I decided to send the ball two or three yards further back.
"There's a stat that 80 per cent of goals from out-swinging corners hit the net at the far post. I managed to get the whip I needed and obviously David Gray has shown the desire and the rest is history."
