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Jordan Henderson today spoke of the “overwhelming” pressure that comes with playing for Liverpool FC - and admits he loves it.

And the newly-appointed vice-captain says the intense spotlight on him at Anfield is like nothing he has ever experienced before.

Henderson, 24, says there is no place to hide when wearing the Red shirt but he enjoys playing with such levels of expectation on his shoulders.

The England midfielder, who has clocked up 141 appearances for Liverpool, admits it is impossible to not feel the pressure but he maintains it is a situation all players strive for.

“Liverpool is a huge club as everyone knows,” he told the official LFC magazine.

“Every single game, the stadiums are sold out. I’ve been on four summer tours to Asia, Australia, and United States.

“The interest is massive. It’s overwhelming really.

“The club has a worldwide reach which few clubs in the world have. You can walk down the street in a city anywhere in the world and there will be someone wearing a Liverpool shirt. All of that means there’s a big responsibility. Everyone is watching you. Nearly all of the Premier League matches are on TV so you aren’t just playing for the people inside the stadium but the people in their homes.

“Everyone has an opinion. Maybe at other clubs the focus isn’t there as much. If you have a bad game once in a while it gets lost and it’s forgotten quickly.

“At Liverpool the pressure is on every moment of every single game. You can’t hide. But I love all of that.

“You have to deal with the pressure in your own way. It’s what you work hard for, to be in the pressure environments like this.”

Henderson is being groomed as a future Reds captain although he refuses to assume he will one day take the armband.

“Just because I’m vice-captain now doesn’t mean I’m going to be captain in the future. I’m not taking anything for granted,” he added.

But the former Sunderland man says he is trying to follow the glowing example set by skipper Steven Gerrard.

“Being around him has benefited me a lot,” Henderson said.

“It’s been huge. Everyday I watch him. It’s his desire to improve. He’s been the best and most influential player here for such a long time but he still wants to get better. He doesn’t take anything for granted. He takes training really seriously and sets the tone for how things should be.

“ Everyone else follows.

“He does a lot of things that people on the outside don’t always see. On the pitch he’s a great leader. You can see the goals, the passes and the tackles he makes; the way he inspires the team.

“But off the pitch he conducts himself brilliantly too.

“He’s a genuinely nice person and everybody in the squad knows they can go to him. The most important thing is he puts the team in front of everybody else including himself.

“The most important thing is the team.”