Dale captain Ian Henderson says he is extremely proud to have made 300 appearances for the Club.
He reached the milestone in Dale’s 1-0 win over Accrington Stanley on Tuesday, and speaking after the game, he told iFollow Dale how much it meant to him.
“Am I proud? Yes, a million percent,” said Henderson.
“To make 300 appearances for any football club, it shows true ability in a player and a person.
“It’s come in a relatively short space of time, six years. I owe a lot to the previous manager and board for having faith in me and bringing me in on a short-term contract.
“For whatever reason it has clicked for me here at this Football Club and I’ve found a home. I’ve spoken about it before – feeling wanted, having confidence and feeling comfortable in myself.
“The next target, that everyone knows about, is to become all-time leading goal scorer for the Football Club.
“I have another year to run on my contract after this one, and there’s no doubt that will happen.
“To play 300 games and barely be injured. I don’t want to say it in a manner that is arrogant, it’s never that, but I’m very, very proud of the achievements on a personal level, and the achievements we’ve had in going from League Two to League One, retaining our League One status for such a long time on a low budget, being a part of developing young players, being a part of this Football Club.
“Who’s stopping me from making another 100 or 200 appearances for this Football Club? Age is just a number!”
Dale’s win over Accrington moved them out of the relegation zone, and Henderson was delighted with the win.
“It felt like a six pointer. That’s brought us level on points with them.
“You saw the celebrations at the end, which wasn’t in a disrespectful manner, because the boys have put in a performance that warranted the three points against a very good Accrington side that John [Coleman] has put together here.
“We’ve implemented the strategy that Brian [Barry-Murphy] has asked us to do, we’ve done it to a tee, and we’ve actually scored a goal that we’ve been working on, from a diagonal ball into Alby. He’s done well, worked a bit of magic inside the six-yard box, played it back to Ollie who has finished it right into the roof of the net.
“The celebrations were magical.”
Watch the full interview with Henderson on iFollow.