Stephen Henderson lifts lid on Portsmouth dressing room fights at Leeds and manager tears

Steve Cotterill recruited the keeper in July 2011 for an undisclosed fee from Bristol City, following an impressive loan spell with Yeovil.

Initially kept out of the side by Jamie Ashdown, the Irishman was eventually handed a daunting league debut at Leeds in October 2011.

Danny Pugh’s 14th-minute goal settled matters 1-0 in the hosts’ favour, leaving Pompey 19th in the Championship.

Yet what occurred in the dressing room afterwards between team-mates Liam Lawrence and Greg Halford remains lodged in Henderson’s memory.

He told The News: ‘I knew Jamie was there and I had to potentially bide my time.

‘He was a good goalkeeper, experienced and well liked around the club. I had signed a three-year deal, so knew it wasn’t going to be quick.

‘I wasn’t fit at the time either. I probably arrived a bit overweight, not as fit as John (Keeley) wanted me, yet he got me working to reach the level he wanted me to be.

‘Then we lost on the Tuesday 3-2 at home to Peterborough and Jamie was going through a bit of a rough patch, while I was training quite well.

‘Our next game was at Leeds - and I was handed my league debut for Pompey.

‘I was terrified. I had gone from playing in front of 2,000 fans at Yeovil to 22,000 at Elland Road that day.

‘I thought I had done pretty well, despite a 1-0 defeat, and my career kicked on after that game – although what happened in the dressing room afterwards was an eye opener.

‘I got back in after the match and witnessed a massive fight between Liam Lawrence and Greg Halford. It all kicked off.

‘Liam was a passionate lad and captain, he desperately wanted to do well, and it became a proper punch up right in front of us.

‘That was my first experience of that side of football. As a 23-year-old, I was blown away by it.

‘I thought: “I’m with the big boys now!”.

In October 2011, Steve Cotterill quit as Pompey boss to make the move to Nottingham Forest.

He was replaced by Michael Appleton a month later, who retained Henderson as his number one before West Ham came calling five months later.

And the Irishman recalls the day when Cotterill announced to staff at the training ground that he was on his way.

He added: ‘The manager who had shown confidence in me had gone, so I was thinking “Where does this leave me?”.

‘Michael Appleton came in and was excellent in the short time I was with him. You certainly knew not to mess with him by looking at him!

‘He pulled me aside and said “I’ve heard good things about you, son”. Which straight away gave me a lift.

‘The departure of Cotterill was another experience. He called a meeting in the dressing room to let us know he was leaving – and broke down.

‘He was talking away, then took a 10-second pause and we were looking thinking “Surely not”. He just cried. He was tearing up and said he was gutted to leave, shook all our hands and walked out the door.

‘It was like he’d got the sack, but he hadn’t been forced out of the job, he left on his own merit to go to Forest.

‘It just showed what the club meant to him. He felt it was time to move on. There were mixed emotions at his departure, but personally I was a bit gutted, he brought me in.

‘Pompey, for whatever reason, helps people feel like they’re part of a family. You have a connection with any player who has been there because they have also felt it.’

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