JORDAN Henderson hopes that Sunderland fans understand why he has signed for Liverpool after just two seasons of Premier League football at the Stadium of Light.

Henderson completed a £19.25m move to Liverpool before the start of the European Under-21 Championship in Denmark with David Ngog set to come the other way as part of the deal.

That has caused some supporters to question both the player’s sense of loyalty to his hometown club, and the extent of the Black Cats’ ambition.

However, Henderson feels most will understand why he left, and also why Sunderland decided to sell him as he denied the stick he had started to receive from fans last season had persuaded him to bring forward his departure.

“The little bit of stick from Sunderland fans didn’t affect my decision at all,” said Henderson, who will link up with his friend and former Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll at Anfield.

“The Sunderland fans have been brilliant with me, top drawer, and with me being from Sunderland it was difficult to leave.

“My family and my mates are all Sunderland fans but they understand and just wish me all the best really.

“A lot of people said my performances dipped after I made my international debut against France, but the manager was happy with what I was doing.

“I always work hard in games. Maybe a couple of little things weren’t quite coming off, but my work-rate never really dipped. You’ve got to deal with stuff like that if you’re gonna be a footballer and play at a high level, you’ve got to deal with the pressures that come with it.

“People have different opinions and you’ve just got to get on with it and make sure you’re confident and keep playing the way you normally do.”

Black Cats manager Steve Bruce had initially believed Henderson would stay at Sunderland for at least another season, but there was always the fear he would decide to leave earlier than he should.

Only time will tell whether he has made a mistake in leaving to go to a club where he could spend a lot of the time on the bench next season, but Sunderland are happy with the money they have got.

For all of his potential, Henderson’s second season in the Premier League was not as effective as his first and, with the emergence of Jack Colback, Bruce felt the timing was right to accept Liverpool’s generous offer.

Henderson said of his new side: “Obviously it’s a massive club, and (they) have a great manager, and great players and I felt as though I could improve there and learn a lot.

“Of course there’ll be competition at any big club that you go to, but I’ve got make sure I work extremely hard and do everything I can to make sure I’m starting in the team. I think I can get into the team.

“I’ve spoken to the manager and he said he thinks I can play in a few positions. I’m not really bothered, all I care about is making sure that I’m in the starting XI and playing regular football.

“It’s a lot of money, but I don’t make the figures up. It just shows that Liverpool have a lot of faith in me and I’ll keep learning and working hard to repay them.”

Henderson picked up the England Under-21 captain’s armband when Hamburg defender Michael Mancienne was substituted in the 1-1 draw with Spain on Sunday and he is vital to Stuart Pearce’s side. He added: “It was a tough game against Spain. They kept the ball really well, like the always do, and made it difficult for us when we had the ball.

“But I think we showed great character, we had that never-say-die attitude and managed to get the late goal through Danny Welbeck at the end.”