As Rovers' towering defender signs for Glasgow Rangers, PETER WHITE gives his personal tribute.

ON a cold March night at Ewood in 1987, Blackburn Rovers fans were given a glimpse of the future - and they liked what they saw.

A big, bold, buccaneering central defender came South from Dundee Reserves and, after a quick handshake with his new team-mates, proceeded to help Rovers to Wembley in the Full Members Cup.

The blond-haired colossus, who couldn't really make up his mind whether he was a centre back or a centre forward, then scored the only goal of that Wembley final against Charlton Athletic.

Inside less than three weeks Colin Hendry, the unknown foot soldier from Keith in the Scottish Highlands, was an Ewood legend.

And, over the next 11 years, he had no trouble living up to it. Not least in the way he made Blackburn his home and determined to play as full a part in the life of the town as he could. Hendry was the man who both the stalwart Rovers fans of skint Second Division days and the born-again Ewood regulars were able to identify with - the heartbeat of their club.

Football needs heroes and, in Hendry, Rovers supporters found one. How and why he became such a cult figure is an intriguing question.

But, whether it was the sight of that Custer-like hairstyle rising above opposing forwards to clear in yet another desperate last stand, or the way in which he threw himself into challenges men of lesser courage would not even have contemplated, does not really matter.

It could even have been the cavalier charges upfield - before he became a 'proper' centre half - to rescue one more lost cause with a golden goal.

Or all the off-the-field engagements he fulfilled, always anxious not to let people down.

Perhaps it was simply that Colin Hendry was the right man in the right place at the right time.

Irrespective of how it came about, he became a beacon of hope to the fans at a difficult time.

And, fittingly, after a relatively brief sabbatical at Maine Road, where his potential for playing at the highest level was realised, this particular Rover's return was an integral part of an even greater comeback. Not only was he at the core of the heart-stopping promotion chase, he was also a crucial figure as the championship came to Blackburn for the first time in more than 80 years.

Going back to the start, I recall sitting in Don Mackay's office the afternoon he received a telephone call, the subject being Colin Hendry.

"He will do a job for us and he won't cost the earth," was the gist of the manager's words. It turned out to be a massive understatement and Rovers should always be grateful to Mackay for discovering the young Scot.

It is also just as well the fee wasn't "the earth", though it seemed that way at the time as the club scraped together around £25,000 to lift the player out of a Dundee reserve game.

The lack of any more money meant an agreement with Dundee for a large percentage of any future sell-on fee, a clause which caused enormous problems when the time came to cash in.

There must have been a time when Hendry wondered how he could "follow that" after his fabulous start.

But he did, gradually settling into a centre back role - though he still stubbornly insisted on making a major scoring contribution to the team.

Hendry escaped the old Second Division in November 1989, when First Division Manchester City paid £700,000 to take him. Only two years elapsed, however, before the prodigal was back as Kenny Dalglish returned the £700,000 fee to Maine Road.

Hendry said at the time that he believed he was taking one step back in order to take two forward. They were prophetic words.

Under the inspiration of Dalglish and the coaching expertise of Ray Harford he blossomed into arguably the finest centre back in the land.

Promotion came first with Hendry a hero in the pressure of the play-off final.

No cause was ever deemed lost to Braveheart and, while his one-time flood of goals had slowed to a trickle, his defensive qualities were now in the top rank.

But it was Hendry's attitude as much as his ability which endeared him to the fans and no doubt forced many a forward to reach for the sleeping pills on a Friday night.

Allied to his other qualities it made him a contender for the top individual honours and a regular for his beloved Scotland.

Will any Rovers fan ever forget, in the title season, the sight of Hendry diving head first to the floor in a packed penalty area at Goodison to try to clear as half a dozen flailing boots were attempting to steer the ball goalwards? I won't. There has been a price to pay, with a series of operations but at the end of the 1996-97 season Hendry's approach to yet more injury problems typified the man.

He should have had groin surgery as Rovers' relegation struggle reached its height but he delayed it until the end of the season.

At the time, he confided that if he had gone into hospital, missed the run-in and Rovers had gone down he would never have been able to face the people of Blackburn again.

That summed up Colin Hendry's commitment to Blackburn Rovers and, while many are understandably angry at the timing of his defection to Rangers, few will harbour a long-term grudge against a man who gave them everything in his time here and earned his ticket home.

His contribution reminds me of another legend.

There was only one Simon Garner and there has been only one Colin Hendry too - two men with Blackburn in their blood.

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