Rising star on Young Player of the Season award...
THE END of Season awards saw Rico Henry claim the Young Player of the Season honour.It’s been a whirlwind campaign for the local youngster, who doesn’t even turn 18 until July.
The youth team product was handed his first professional contract last summer and has since had the deal further extended, such is the regard in which he is held by the club.
After getting a first taste of senior action during the pre-season of 2013, he made his first-team debut for the club in our Johnstone’s Paint Trophy encounter at Tranmere Rovers in December.
Slotting seamless into the team, he went on to make ten appearances in total, a number which was curtailed by a dislocated shoulder suffered in our game at Preston North End in February.
The level-headed Henry admitted that it came as a shock when he was announced as the winner of the prestigious award, which was voted for by the supporters.
“It was a big surprise, to be honest,” he said. “I expected it to go to one of the older lads like Reece Flanagan.
“I thought that I did well when I came into the team; it was nice to get a run of games under my belt and to have my performances recognised by the fans in this way is a real boost for my confidence.
“I knew that making the step-up to first-team football would be difficult, but I feel that I have settled in well. The rest of the lads were very welcoming and that helped me settle in straight away.
“The hard work continues for me now and my aim is to get more games under my belt next season.
“We’ve been given a maintenance programme to follow by Jon Whitney and I’ll be back in to do extra work with him to strengthen my shoulder.
“I know it’s important to follow the schedule set out whilst we are away from the club so that we return ready to hit the ground running when pre-season training starts at the beginning of July.
“We’ve been told to rest for a couple of weeks now, so I’ll look to get away somewhere before coming back refreshed and ready.”