Henderson: This is my home now
Jordan Henderson insists there'll be no time for sentiment when he takes to the field against former club Sunderland tonight as Liverpool aim to extend their unbeaten run in the Barclays Premier League.
The midfielder is set to come up against his boyhood team for the fifth time since swapping Wearside for Merseyside back in 2011.
Henderson acknowledges the experience of facing Sunderland was one he faced with a degree of peculiarity in those early encounters - but it's one he's now fully accustomed to.
"At first it was a little bit strange because I was at Sunderland from I was young," he revealed in an exclusive interview with Liverpoolfc.com.
"But I've been at Liverpool for a few years now and I feel like it is sort of like home for me, so it doesn't really matter who me or the team play against - I just want to win every game.
"I'm sure it'll be very difficult because they're another team fighting for their lives. They've got some very good players and I'm sure they'll be right up for it coming to Anfield.
"We'll need to make sure we're right at it from the start, get the crowd with us and play with a lot of energy and tempo.
"High tempo is the key, I think, and I'm sure if we do that we can get the win."
Naturally, Henderson still feels a connection with his old team - particularly as members of his family and friends are life-long Sunderland supporters.
Indeed, the 23-year-old joined Black Cats fans in watching the recent Capital One Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley.
"It was a good experience," he said. "Obviously my friends and family are from Sunderland, they're fans and went to the game.
"I went along with them to watch and it was a great day out for the Sunderland fans, although they'll be disappointed with the result. It was good to go and watch a game and I wanted Sunderland to do well."
On-loan Liverpool striker Fabio Borini opened the scoring on that afternoon, though Sunderland eventually succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at the national stadium.
Due to the terms of his temporary switch to the Stadium of Light, the Italian will be ineligible to face his parent club at Anfield tonight.
"I think he'll be a massive miss, to be honest," said Henderson. "I've obviously watched a few games of Sunderland's and I think Fabio has been outstanding.
"He gives them energy, works really hard and is a goal threat. He'll be a big miss, but they've got other good players that can come in. We just need to concentrate on ourselves and keep doing the right things."
Tonight's fixture represents Liverpool's first match on home soil for over a month; Swansea City on February 23 were the last visitors to Anfield.
With five of the Reds' remaining eight Premier League fixtures to be played in front of the Kop, Henderson feels Kopites have a major role to play over the course of the final straight.
He said: "We always miss playing at home. We love playing at Anfield, especially this season. It's been a great home ground for us and the fans have been fantastic all season.
"We've just got to keep that going until the end of the season. We've got five games at home and they'll be big games for us, but I'm sure the crowd will be right up for them - and so will we. We'll look forward to it."