Jordan Henderson wants to finish season with a victory

May 22 2011 by James Hunter, Sunday Sun

JORDAN HENDERSON hopes West Ham bounce straight back into the Premier League – but that won’t stop him kicking the Hammers while they’re down.

Sunderland’s homegrown hero is set to line up against the Londoners in this afternoon’s season finale at Upton Park, as the Black Cats aim to finish on a high and give themselves an outside chance of leaping four places to finish in the top 10.

But for doomed West Ham it will be a Premier League farewell after their relegation was rubber-stamped a week ago with a 3-2 defeat at fellow-strugglers Wigan.

Henderson sympathises with the Hammers’ plight, but insists Sunderland cannot afford to show them any mercy.

“It could be an odd atmosphere, with West Ham already relegated,” said Henderson. “I know West Ham will still be up for the game because they will want to give a bit of pride back to their fans, too.

“Now that they are down, the pressure is off and they can just go out and play because they have nothing to fear.

“Despite what has happened to them, they are a good team with some good players – maybe, when you look at their squad they shouldn’t have gone down.

“I’ve played with a few of them for the Under-21s, and they are good lads so I am a little bit disappointed for them.

“I think they will come back quickly, but next season will be a big one for them, to see whether they can bounce back straight away – and to be honest I hope they do.

“But really we just have to concentrate on our own game today. It will be a tough match but, if we approach it in the right way, we can definitely go there and win.

“And that’s what we have to do. We have to go there with the right attitude and make sure we finish the season with a win to give us a chance of finishing in the top ten.

“It’s an opportunity for us to give the travelling fans, who have been fantastic with us all season, something to cheer.”

Yet, whatever the result today, Sunderland’s season will still be remembered as a lost opportunity.

The Black Cats were sitting pretty in seventh place in January, with a chance to challenge for Europa League qualification.

But a catalogue of serious injuries undermined their campaign, sparking a slump which took them to the fringes of the relegation battle before they finally scrambled to safety.

Henderson said: “Looking back, in the first half of the season we did really well, but after Christmas we faded.