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發表於 2005-7-27 14:19:06
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Originally posted by Smithy at 2005-7-27 08:49 AM:
HENCHOZ回歸英超
Henchoz agrees Wigan Athletic deal
Stephane Henchoz is ready for a relegation scrap with Wigan next season despite years of tasting success at Liverpool.
Henchoz: Premiership return. (Picture/Empics)
Latics manager Paul Jewell made Henchoz his fourth signing of the summer, with the 30-year-old centre-back signing a one-year deal.
German side Kaiserslautern and Basle from Switzerland were interested in Henchoz, but he wanted a return to Premiership football after spending the final four months of last season on a short-term contract with Celtic.
His spell in Scotland followed five-and-a-half years at Anfield, with Henchoz an integral part of the treble cup-winning side of 2001.
But the Switzerland defender now faces a different proposition as Wigan are favourites for an immediate return to the Coca-Cola Championship following their promotion in May.
Henchoz, however, is unfazed by the prospect, and said: 'I am prepared for a relegation battle.
'I know that when you get promoted, most people are expecting you to go straight back down.
'We know it will be difficult and I know I won't win as many games as I used to win at Liverpool.
'The challenge is to stay up. We know we won't win a trophy, but if we could stay up that would be our trophy.
'Wigan are a Premiership club right now and while they don't have the same glamour as other teams, we know we can make history if we do stay up.'
Henchoz is adamant he has nothing to prove and that he's merely out to enjoy himself again following an unhappy end to his days at Anfield.
'I had three very good years there, and it was great to win a few trophies,' added Henchoz.
'Then in the fourth year I started to get injured, and in particular I twice had Achilles problems, while the fifth season - the final one under Gerard Houllier - was more difficult for both myself and the team.
'But I don't think I have to prove I am a top defender. I just really want to enjoy myself because I think the Premier League is very exciting.'
Henchoz, though, endured the most painful time of his career in the Premiership with Blackburn just over six years ago when he was part of a Rovers side that was relegated.
Henchoz insists that is something he has no desire to repeat, and added: 'That was the worst time for me.
'The last three or four months with Blackburn were very hard, especially because we had a team that should not have gone down.
'Everybody was expecting us to finish in the top eight, but we ended up being relegated and that is something I don't want to experience again.
'But hopefully those experiences can help me because although this is a different situation and everybody is expecting Wigan to be relegated, then I'm sure I can draw on those useful times.'
Jewell feels he now has the experienced name he has been looking for all summer as he said: 'I think we made a decent impression on him while he trained with us in Denmark last week.
'He's still fairly young at 30, but the main thing is he has a lot of experience and that can help us.
'But he is nowhere near as fit as he should be because he has been training on his own recently.
'He is behind the rest at the moment, but in two or three weeks he will be fit and ready for the start of the season.'
Jewell, meanwhile, is confident midfielder Jimmy Bullard and striker Nathan Ellington will sign new contracts with the club soon.
Both players have just a year remaining on their current deals, and despite ongoing negotiations, have yet to put pen to paper.
'I think they both want to sign, and we want them to sign, so I expect those deals to be done sooner rather than later,' added Jewell. |
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發表於 2005-7-25 21:55:01
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發表於 2005-7-27 13:34:24
