Colin Hendry


Edward Colin James Hendry is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. Hendry, who played as a defender, started his career with Dundee in 1983. and spent spells at Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Rangers, Coventry City, Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool. He was part of the Blackburn squad that won the English Premiership in 1995 and the Rangers squad that won the Scottish domestic treble in 1998–99. He has had management stints at Blackpool and Clyde.

Club career

Hendry first played for his local professional club, Highland League outfit Keith, and Islavale, a North Scottish Junior club. He began his full-time professional career in 1983 with Dundee. During his early career, Hendry played mainly as a striker. In 1987 he was transferred to Blackburn Rovers, where he was converted into a defender. One of his first appearances came in the Full Members Cup final, where he scored the only goal in the 1–0 Wembley win over Charlton Athletic.
He played over 100 games for Blackburn before joining Manchester City in 1989, where he was named Player of the Year in the 1989–90 season. His days at City were numbered, however, after he fell out of manager Peter Reid's plans when Reid took over in November 1990 on the departure of Howard Kendall to Everton.
He was re-signed for Blackburn by Kenny Dalglish in November 1991 for a fee of £700,000 and helped them to great success including promotion from the Second Division and winning the FA Premier League. In 1998, he got a move back to Scotland to play with Rangers where he was signed by manager Dick Advocaat for £4 million. However, despite winning the domestic treble with Rangers in his first season, his time there was relatively unhappy with Advocaat claiming that Hendry was "not his type of player". After his spell at Rangers, Hendry also played for Coventry City and Bolton Wanderers, as well as Preston North End and Blackpool on loan, before retiring from playing football.
Overall, Hendry played more than 500 league games and scored more than 40 goals in a playing career spanning 20 years.
In November 2018, Hendry played a league game for Blackburn Sunday League side Moorgate F.C.

International career

Hendry managed to win 51 caps for Scotland despite the fact that he was a latecomer to the international scene, not making his debut until he was 27. He captained Scotland in the 1998 World Cup. His last Scotland appearance, on 28 March 2001, saw Hendry score two goals in a 4–0 win over San Marino. His international career was ended as he was subsequently banned for six matches for elbowing San Marino substitute Nicola Albani later in that game.

Coaching career

Hendry landed his first managerial job in June 2004 when he was appointed manager of his former club Blackpool, but was dismissed by the club in November 2005 following a poor run of results.
In September 2006 Hendry joined Boston United as assistant manager, and in June 2007 he became manager of Scottish side Clyde. Hendry lost his first three games in charge. He picked up his first victory in a Scottish Challenge Cup tie against fellow Scottish First Division side Queen of the South in August 2007. His best run was a six-game undefeated streak from November 2007 to December 2007. His final game in charge of Clyde was a Scottish Cup fourth-round match, which Clyde lost 1–0 to Dundee United. Hendry resigned as manager of Clyde on 18 January 2008,
In June 2012, Hendry re-joined Blackburn Rovers, initially as first team coach. He later became assistant manager of the club's under-21 team.
On 12 June 2014, Hendry left Rovers.

Personal life

Hendry's wife, Denise, died on 10 July 2009, aged 42. Her death is believed to have been caused by a long-term infection resulting from nine punctures to internal organs inflicted during cosmetic surgery performed by Swedish cosmetic surgeon Gustav Aniansson, at the private Broughton Park Hospital in Preston, in April 2002. Hendry has four children by his wife: Rheagan, Kyle, Callum and Niamh. His son Callum is also a footballer.
On 23 June 2010, Hendry was formally declared bankrupt at Blackpool County Court. It was reported that he faced a tax bill of more than £1m and owed thousands of pounds to other creditors. One of the creditors was SpreadEx, a betting company.
Hendry was charged with harassing and assaulting an ex-girlfriend in May 2015. He subsequently pleaded guilty to a charge of harassment, while the assault charge was dropped.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.17 November 1993National Stadium, Ta' Qali2–02–01994 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.28 March 2001Hampden Park, Glasgow1–04–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.28 March 2001Hampden Park, Glasgow2–04–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Blackburn Rovers
Rangers
Individual