Former Liverpool caretaker manager Phil Thompson has heaped praise on midfielder Jordan Henderson for signing a new long-term contract with the club, and hinted that other players should follow his example.
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Football pundit Thompson, who has also captained the Reds, stepped up from the role of assistant to take the hotseat for half of the 2001/02 campaign after boss Gerard Houllier fell ill.
He was delighted to see England international Henderson commit his future to the Merseyside outfit and took to social media site Twitter to claim that the way in which the ex-Sunderland man went about the issue should be replicated:
Well done to Jordan Henderson that’s how to handle contract negotiations
— Phil Thompson (@Phil_Thompson4) April 23, 2015
The news came as a timely boost for Liverpool, as anxiety continues to grow about the stand-off with attacker Raheem Sterling, who is yet to put pen to paper on a contract extension.
While Henderson conducted his negotiations away from the glare of the spotlight, Sterling conducted an unauthorised interview in which he discussed the ongoing saga.
He is not expected to re-open contract talks until this summer at the earliest, by which point his club could be facing up to the prospect of a season without Champions League football. They currently occupy fifth place in the Premier League table, which would earn qualification for the Europa League.