Colin Hendry interview: Repeating Blackburn Rovers Premier League title success is almost impossible

In an exclusive interview with Coin Poker, the Scottish football icon opens up on Rovers, Russell Martin’s new dawn at Rangers and discusses former clubs Manchester City, Bolton, Coventry.

The former Scotland captain also explains why he is optimistic about the Tartan Army’s chances of reaching the 2026 World Cup in North America. 

Manchester City

Q: Given the success of Palmer, Porro, Delap, Rogers and Chelsea bound Gittens – should City be so hasty in letting their academy talent go so freely? Whilst you couldn’t argue with Pep’s success, maybe he should have been looking closer to home with his current rebuild rather than splashing out the millions he has this summer?

Colin Hendry: The problem Pep had with these talented youngsters, and let’s not make any mistake, there are obviously all talented boys and have since gone on to show that, but the problem he would have had was integrating more than one of them into a team that was winning title after title.  

When the pressure is that intense, it’s impossible to integrate more than one youngster into the team. 

You have to have a balance between potential and experience, and most managers, successful managers, always lean on the latter. 

Players like Porro, Delap, Rogers, they would have all been developing at different rates. The thing about Pep is that he never stands in a player’s way if he wants to play. He’ll let them go, wave them off, and to be fair to him, he gets it right most of the time. 

The one that probably stings the most is Cole Palmer, but who is to say that Palmer would be the player he is now if he stayed at City? It’s the same for Morgan Rogers at Villa. 

Selling your developed players is becoming a big part of the game. City get good money for these players and they also put in sell-on clauses, so they can’t have too many complaints. Of course, fans want to see homegrown players in the team, but again, I don’t think they can have too many complaints about Pep since he’s been in charge. 

Q: Would you take a punt on Paul Pogba? Pep has wanted to sign him in the past.

Colin Hendry: What’s Pogba been doing for the last few years? That’s the thing, you know, there are so many doubts about his ability and where he is as a player because we haven’t seen him. 

At his last club, Juventus, he wasn’t brilliant, was he? I know he had a lot of issues away from the pitch, so maybe that was part of the reason why he didn’t play at his best in Italy, but there are more reasons not to sign him than to sign him if I’m Pep Guardiola. 

I think gone are the days where players are out of work and then managers look and think, well, he’s not played for three months, he’s not played for six months, he’s not played for nine months, he’s not played for a year, let’s give him a chance. I don’t think that is the case at the elite level regardless of what you’ve done in the game and what your name is, and maybe Paul Pogba has found that out because no one has taken him so far. 

I don’t want to write him off; I hope he can come back and show everyone what he’s made of because he’s 32 and still could have a couple of good years in him, but I don’t think Manchester City or the Premier League is a good fit for him to be honest. 

Q: Should Jack Grealish move to another club? If so, who?

Colin Hendry: It looks like Jack’s City days are numbered. He’s been left out of the Club World Cup squad and he didn’t play nearly enough football last season. It’s going to be a big summer for him and he’s got some big decisions to make, possibly the biggest decision of his career in terms of making sure that whichever club he decides to join next season, it’s the right one for him. 

Jack is a player that I’ve followed for a long time. When I was working as the Blackburn academy coach, we played Villa and he was the best player on the pitch by miles. I’ve kind of been following him since, and he’s gone and had an unbelievable career. 

I think he’s unfairly treated sometimes. People have ideas about him that I don’t think are true. You can’t win what he has done and have the career he’s had – getting the £100m move to City – winning the treble, without having something about you. He’s been a scapegoat sometimes. 

He’s an excellent footballer and now he has a decision to make. It’s a great position for him to be in because he leave’s City with a shed-load of medals and the opportunity to go and show everyone who he is as a player. He absolutely must pick the right club that will allow him to express himself. 

I want to see him go and prove people wrong, even though he doesn’t really have anything to prove to anyone. Whether that is in the Premier League, with say a return to Aston Villa, or somewhere on the continent. Whoever gets him will be getting an unbelievable player. I actually think he could be a good addition for a team like Arsenal because they’re in need of a bit more creativity. 

Coventry

Q: What does Frank Lampard need to do to go one step better next season?

Colin Hendry: Honestly, in that league, anything can happen. It really, really can. 

I obviously followed Blackburn Rovers in the Championship throughout the season, and they were there and thereabouts and looked like the play-offs were in reach, but then they slipped. They also changed managers like Coventry, but unfortunately, they couldn’t get into that top six. 

The Championship is the most difficult league in the world. There are so many massive teams competing in it, trying to fight their way out, and that is exactly what it’s like in that league: a fight. 46 gruelling games. You play, you rest, you prepare. The coaching side really gets taken during the preseason, it’s so difficult to change things. 

The problem that Frank has is that the expectations at Coventry are high now. The fans want to see the club take the next step, because Mark Robbins before him, he didn’t really put a foot wrong in my opinion. Coventry are a team that consistently gets into those play-offs, now it’s about taking the next step. 

It’s not easy to keep competing, and sometimes, those expectations can kill a manager. It’s not going to be easy for Frank next season. 

But listen, Frank’s done a great job there. He’s done a phenomenal job. He really did. And the irony of when Sunderland scored the last goal, because I thought Coventry were better than them over the piece, it’s heartbreaking. That’s football though and Sunderland go and get promoted. The lines are so fine in terms of winning and losing at the top end of the Championship. 

I’m expecting another promotion push from Coventry. If they can start the season well, get some momentum behind them, who knows where that could take them. 

Blackburn

Q: This year marks 30 since Rovers won the PL. What’re your best memories from that day at Anfield?

Colin Hendry: Honestly, there is only one memory to think about and it was the final whistle when we realised we had won the Premiership because other than that, there were no great memories, I can assure you. 

In the lead up to it, we were in a hotel for the whole day. You’re thinking about what might happen, of course. 

Overall, it was crazy. It was surreal. It was just one of these days in football that I can hardly remember, but I can remember stupid little things – all the painful things!

When Liverpool scored their equaliser, when they scored a second goal to go in front. When Chris Sutton missed his chance in front of the Kop, I’m thinking that’s the game done and dusted because to be fair to Liverpool, they are professionals and they go and they apply themselves correctly to try and win a game of football.

It was a no lose game for a Liverpool fan. If Blackburn won the title, they would have been happy because it was Kenny’s team, and at the same time, they wouldn’t have wanted Manchester United to win a title. Kenny leading Blackburn to the title, at the great expense of Manchester United, that’s almost as good as a win for Liverpool fans! Kenny prevented Manchester United from winning the league. It’s all good from a Liverpool perspective. Although, that being said, they made life extremely difficult for us on that day! 

But the day itself, it wasn’t a comfortable day. We’re going into the last few minutes and we need to score twice. We need to win the game because we don’t know what’s going on at Upton Park. 

When that match finished, it did filter through to the players quite quickly, but it was a strange way to win a title. I watched the United highlights and how they did not manage to win, I don’t know. The amount of attempts that Manchester United had on goal, the ricochets, the blocks.

The margins were so fine. The difference between Blackburn winning the title and losing it were wafer thin. Fortunately, we were on the right side of fate that day. 

Oh man, the relief at the end was just something else. It was. For the whole summer, I just celebrated everywhere I went. It was crazy, man. It was really mad.

Q: Do you think a relative achievement will ever be possible again – A club of Rovers’ size taken over by a boyhood fan to win the PL?

Colin Hendry: I don’t know the owner at Oldham, Frank Rothwell, but he’s taken his club into the football league. I suppose there are comparisons that can be made to Jack Walker there, because he’s a local guy, done well, but he’s four levels away from making it into the Premier League, never mind winning it! But you’d like to think it’s possible. You’d like to think that it’s possible for another club to do what Blackburn Rovers did in 1995. 

Our achievement with Blackburn was a culmination of things moving in the right direction at the football club for a number of years. In the two or three years prior to that, we’d gotten promoted, we beat Leicester at Wembley in the playoff final. We were on an upward trajectory. 

For someone to do that again, it’s going to be almost impossible. I don’t think it will happen. A good team to look at is Wrexham, who keep climbing the league tables and must have their eyes on the Premier League. It’s a settled club, the owners are ambitious, everything is working well.

I’d like to think you can live the dream, because that is what football is all about. But the big guns in the Premier League are getting bigger and bigger. It’s so difficult for a town club, like Blackburn were, to compete with those giants these days. Leicester managed something very special, but it’s a little bit different to Blackburn’s achievement. 

Q: What did you make of Alan Shearer’s decision to join Newcastle instead of Manchester United?

Colin Hendry: Well, Alan kept his cards very close to his chest. Even as a teammate, sharing the same changing room, he never ever spoke about the speculation or the rumours. He didn’t discuss it – he was focused on scoring goals. 

To be fair, I don’t think Alan’s had any real regrets about going back to Newcastle. We all know that he could have joined Manchester United, but that’s his club, his hometown. He wanted to go back there and be something; do something, which unfortunately he didn’t. 

At the same time, I don’t think the club would have sold him to Manchester United with the clubs being so close together in the North West and because of the rivalry that went on, I don’t think that Blackburn would have wanted him to join United.  

The truth is that United were looking at him when he joined Blackburn from Southampton, they were sniffing around then. So Alan turned them down twice, and not many players can say that! 

I think he was quite happy with the decision to go to Newcastle. He’s gone on record as well as saying that Newcastle winning the Carabao Cup this season was one of the greatest, if not the greatest achievement that he’s ever felt, so he’s a die hard Newcastle man.

He won the Premier League with Blackburn, and then I think he was quite happy just to go back to Newcastle. That’s his hometown club, that’s his club. And you understand that. He may not have won more trophies for the club, but he picked up all kinds of individual records, obviously is still the record-scorer in the Premier League and he lives his dream. He’ll have no regrets. 

Q: He’s the king of Newcastle. There’s no denying that.

Rangers

Q: What do you think about Russell Martin’s appointment as Rangers boss, will it be a success, will it be a culture shock going into Ibrox?

Colin Hendry: He played for Rangers so it shouldn’t be that much of a culture shock for him. He knows the crowd. He knows the passion of the fan base up there, so there can be no doubts about his knowledge of knowing exactly what’s required managing Rangers Football Club. 

This is the thing that all Rangers managers struggle with, when you’re the manager of Rangers, there’s only one team to beat and there’s only winning and losing. You either beat Celtic and become the champions or you finish second and it means nothing. That’s the reality of Rangers. 

Rangers have appointed former players before, and I think that helps, because it is a unique club in that sense. I don’t think people who aren’t in and around Glasgow or Scotland understand just how big Rangers are. 

Giovanni Van Bronckhorst went back there, did alright. Russell is a similar appointment. He’s a younger coach as well. 

Russell seems to have always been on the up in terms of his managerial career. He’s gone from club to club, climbing the ladder.  

Rangers is a big job. It’s a two horse race in Scotland. It’s been like that since the 80s really. Aberdeen had a bit of strength and Dundee United, but Scottish football is all about the two Glasgow giants.

There can only be one winner. Rangers will not recognise finishing runner-up to Celtic as success. It’s a tough old league. It really is. And as far as the Old Firm, it’s still the biggest game in the UK in my opinion. 

Q: Celtic and Rangers joining the Premier League would have been great for Scottish football

Colin Hendry: This might be an unpopular opinion, but if Rangers and Celtic had joined the Prem back in the days when Michele Platini was running UEFA, then I think it would have been a good thing for the overall competitive nature of football in Scotland. 

I think it would have been ideal because the rest of Scotland could go and play and there’s a bit more of a level playing field. 

The reality is, the difference between Celtic and Rangers vs the rest is massive. There’s a huge gulf between the rest of the league and those clubs. It’s going to be hard for Rangers to bridge the gap between Celtic, despite their size, because of the revenue that Celtic would have generated from the Champions League. 

The old debate about how Rangers and Celtic get on in the Premier League is a silly one. I’m convinced that both clubs – two giants – would do more than compete. If you gave those clubs Premier League budgets, given the size of the clubs, the support they get, they would certainly compete. 

Q: Can Martin play a brand of swashbuckling football with Rangers that wins things? 

Colin Hendry: Well the Rangers fans will expect their club to play with an identity, and when they appointed him, those were the noises the club were making. His playing style and brand of football was lauded, so the fans are going to expect to see their club play good, attacking football. 

He’ll be expected to deliver that style in 80% of his fixtures, so the pressure will be on. European games, games against Celtic, games against difficult opposition, the fans will allow a little bit of pragmatism, but they will still expect results. 

When they play Celtic for example, he won’t be able to get away with what he was doing at Southampton. He won’t be allowed to roll over while trying to play good football. 

I think he can go to Rangers and play an expansive, enjoyable style, he will just need to temper it at times. Let’s have it right, Rangers should win more football matches than they lose, so he should be playing attractive football. 

For Rangers fans, the most important thing is to win but then, if you can win with a bit of passion and if you’ve got a bit of flair in there as well, even better. 

Listen, Ibrox is not a great place to be on the back of a defeat. I can assure you that. Not nice. 

Q: What advice would he have for Conor Coady if the Wolves defender makes the switch to Rangers late in his career?

Colin Hendry: Will moving to Rangers be a good move for Conor Coady? I think that depends on what he’s looking at this point in his career.  

When I moved to Rangers, being Scottish, it was a huge move for me. One of my ambitions was to play for Rangers and win titles, play Champions League football, and I did that. I actually fulfilled that dream of mine in my career, went back, got involved and won the treble. 

For Conor, it’s a bit different because he’s an English lad, 32 now, and has had a good career in the Premier League with the likes of Wolves. His last couple of moves in blue haven’t worked out as well as he probably would have liked (Everton and Leicester), so I hope this one will be different for him if he does end up at Ibrox. 

What I would say is this: Rangers are a giant of a club. If he signs, Coady will be playing for the biggest club that he has ever played for in his career and there is a brilliant challenge waiting for him. 

When I went to Rangers, it was the biggest club I played for, even though I was at City, won the Premier League with Blackburn. It’s big. It’s not going to be any different for Conor Coady either if he joins. 

That would be a big move for him; an attractive move. If the finances are correct, and if he wants it, then it’s a move that has the potential to suit all parties.

Q: Who would you like to see Russell Martin sign for Rangers this summer and do you think he is the calibre of manager that could knock Celtic off their perch this coming season?

Colin Hendry: Well, if Rangers are going to knock Celtic off their perch, I think recruitment is important. The financial side of things are important too because we all know that the money available in Scotland isn’t like it is in the Premier League, and Rangers will have a much smaller budget than Celtic because of their Champions League exploits. 

I think it will be a really tough ask for Rangers to become champions next season. Celtic under Brendan Rogers, they’ve done well again. They were probably disappointed they didn’t win the Scottish Cup Final against Aberdeen, but they’ve done well again. 

When you’re at the top in Scotland, it’s all about sustaining the level, keeping it and freshening things up. Not changing too much because you don’t want to lose that winning mentality. Not that I think Celtic is going to do that. I don’t think Celtic will lose that in any shape or form.

Celtic’s biggest challenge and biggest problem will come from Rangers. That’s how it works in Scotland. Whoever is the top team, the challenge will come from the other half of Glasgow. 

It’s going to be interesting and it’s a clean slate for everybody at Rangers. Russell will go in there and he’ll do what he needs to do. The recruitment’s important though. There’s been a takeover, so you imagine that the finances will be there to strengthen and to provide Russell with what he needs, because at the moment, he doesn’t have the squad to compete with Celtic for the title. 

Q: Should Rangers sell Dessers to fund a summer rebuild? 

Colin Hendry: It’s funny, because, despite his goals, he’s got his critics, hasn’t he? He’s got his critics, to be fair. 

Last season he scored some incredible goals, a couple in Europe too. We know he’s capable of scoring some jaw-dropping goals. There is no doubt that he has the ability, but I think the frustration towards him has more to do with the fact that he also misses a lot of chances. Sometimes, he needs quite a few chances to stick one away, and against the very best teams, you won’t get that many opportunities to score.

Scoring goals is the hardest part of the game. Maybe he needs someone that can help him improve his proficiency and his game up and around him. Maybe he needs someone that can take a bit of the pressure off him and allow himself to operate in the positions to score more goals.

At the end of the day, his future will be down to Russell Martin. And he might have looked at everything, analysed, looked at his squad and decided that actually, he doesn’t fancy him. He may not fancy him for the type of football he wants to play. If that is the case and he is a sellable asset, then you have to say thanks and cheerio. What I would say is that if he were to leave, then that money would have to be spent on reinforcements because replacing his 18 SPFL goals won’t be easy. 

Celtic

Q: Is the end-of-season cup final loss a sign that Celtic have grown complacent?

Colin Hendry: Well, the crazy thing was, 10 days before Celtic went to Pittodrie and beat Aberdeen 1-5 with virtually a B team. It was a team full of players that weren’t regularly getting a game for Celtic. So, you would have thought come the Cup final, it’s only going to go one way, especially by putting his first team back in. 

It was one of those games where Celtic simply couldn’t get over the line. Had they scored the second, it’s game over, but they just couldn’t get it. They just couldn’t get hold of it.

I wouldn’t say Celtic were complacent. I think it was more of an off day for them.

Maybe Brendan might look back now and think it was a mistake making so many changes for the game against Aberdeen in the SPFL and not playing the team that he played in the final. He might think that, he might not, but I think any manager, even one as successful as Brendan, would definitely be thinking about a defeat in the Cup final and look at himself for answers in understanding how Celtic lost that day. 

Obviously, losing on penalties, that can happen, but Celtic should have sewn the game up and maybe he regrets making so many changes for the tie. 

Dundee

Q: What are your thoughts on the appointment of Steven Pressley at Dundee?

Colin Hendry: I was disappointed to see that Tony Docherty was relieved of his duties at Dundee. I didn’t think that he deserved to be given the boot and now Steven Pressley has come in.

I know Tony and his backroom staff pretty well. It’s not easy managing towards the bottom of the SPFL, there are some decent clubs down there scrapping for survival.  

St Johnstone were down there all season, and I just think that Dundee, they did enough to get out of it, it wasn’t a great season, but what are the expectations for the club? When it comes to the bottom clubs in the SPFL, I wouldn’t say it’s a case of the usual suspects, but sometimes the most important thing for your football club and the realistic objective is staying in the league. You don’t want to drop out of the elite level.

I think Dundee have done pretty well in recent years. I think Tony Docherty had a bit of credit in the bank after what he had done at the club over the last couple of years and, in my opinion, he deserved another attempt at managing Dundee in the SPFL next season instead of the club changing management.

I was a bit shocked when I saw that news.

Scotland

Q: Can this Scotland squad under Steve Clarke end the long wait to play at a World Cup Finals?

Colin Hendry: Against the likes of Liechtenstein, we can maybe go a bit gung ho because we should beating them. With the greatest respect, San Marino, other nations like that, we should be beating them and beating them convincingly.