No hesitation for Hendrick over record Clarets move

The Clarets had the door shut in their faces on numerous occasions during their pursuit of the Republic of Ireland international over the summer but the 24-year-old finally completed a three-year deal on Deadline Day for a fee believed to be in excess of £10m.

The former Derby County man, who netted his first international goal in the World Cup qualifier with Serbia just days after his move, said: “There was no hesitation, not at all. It’s Premier League football.

“They did so well last year, they were top of the league and went on a great unbeaten run at the end. It’s a hard working team.

“I heard the group was great as well and everyone I talked to about the manager had praise for him so why wouldn’t I take the opportunity?

“When I was at Derby I was training and playing and I could see this was here. The manager at Derby was fine with me, we had a chat about it and we discussed what was going on in the background.

“The main thing for me was to keep playing with Derby and get my fitness in case anything came along and I’d be ready.”

Hendrick added: “It’s been a bit crazy. It’s a bit weird signing and then not seeing the lads for a week or so, that was a lot different.

“I got into the group on Thursday morning and trained with them and enjoyed it. They helped me settle in, they’ve been great with me.”

The Dublin-born midfielder, who has 26 caps to his name and impressed during his nation’s UEFA European Championship campaign in France where he started all four of the matches, has amassed over 200 appearances in the Sky Bet Championship.

Now he’s determined to prove his value by breaking in to the starting XI and helping the Clarets retain their top flight status.

After making his bow, replacing goalscorer Steven Defour in the 1-1 draw with Hull City, he said: “I think I’ve got to take it (transfer fee) as a compliment really.

“The club were willing to pay that and now I’ve got to show that I’m worth it, I’ve got to put performances in every week and that’s the challenge for me. I look forward to it.

“I’ve had two good days training with the lads and managed to make my first Premier League appearance.

He added: “I’ll knuckle down come Monday and start working hard again. If I get selected I’m going to make sure I’m ready to keep the spot.

“Every player in that dressing room wants to stay up and wants to give it a good go this year and that’s what we try and do on the training pitch and then try and bring it into games.”