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      Forgotten former Premier League boss, 59, ready to return to management 15 years after setting embarrassing record

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      BILLY DAVIES wants a return to football management — and is keen on a job in England.The Scot, 59, was highly regarded at Derby and Preston but dropped off the radar after leaving Nottingham Forest back in 2014.
      Billy Davies managed Derby before two stints bossing Nottingham ForestCredit: PA:Press Association
      Davies celebrated his biggest achievement in management when Derby beat West Brom 1-0 in the Championship play-off final in 2007Credit: AP:Associated Press
      Although he guided the Rams to the top flight in 2007, he is best known for his part in the Premier League’s lowest-ever points tally the following season.
      The ex-Motherwell chief was jubilant when Derby beat West Brom 1-0 in the Championship play-off final.
      But he was gone by November the next term as County ended 2007-08 with a shocking ELEVEN Prem points.
      Paul Jewell was the manager who succeeded him in that incredibly dire campaign.
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      Nonetheless, Davies took over fierce East Midlands rival Forest in January 2009.
      And having already won the Championship Manager of the Month award four times, he picked it up twice more at the City Ground.
      But after missing out in the play-offs for two seasons in a row, Forest axed him in June 2011.
      He was, however, back at the club two years later – under a new board.
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      Despite signing a lengthy contract extension in October 2013, his reign was full of controversy.
      And it ended with another sacking in March the following year.
      Davies dismissed well-established club staff, clashed with a photographer taking snaps for the club’s match-day programme and banned journalists amid what was called a “near media blackout”.
      He was reportedly shortlisted for the Hearts job in 2017.
      Davies has been off the radar since then – but hopes that will all change More

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      Neil Warnock on brink of QUITTING Huddersfield as press conference announced with ‘mystery foreign boss’ lined up

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      NEIL WARNOCK is set to quit Huddersfield Town after Wednesday’s home game with Stoke.Following Saturday’s 2-0 win over Rotherham that lifted Town into 16th spot, the veteran boss said he would address speculation about his future on Monday.
      Neil Warnock is set to leave Huddersfield with a mystery foreign boss lined upCredit: Getty
      And talkSPORT claims a mystery foreign boss has already been lined up to take charge, with a press conference imminent.
      Warnock, 74, said: “It (social media) did say this was my last game so that’s wrong then.
      “So you’ll have to wait until Monday now, the press conference. We’ll discuss it then.
      “I’m ever so proud of what we’ve achieved here. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and I’m not prepared to talk about it [now], but a wonderful performance [against Rotherham].
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      “I’m just enjoying my football, the crowds and the atmosphere, and when I see the lads put in a performance like that.”
      On the visit of Stoke, he added: “Of course I will be [here], I want to beat Stoke, more than anything.”
      Warnock came out of retirement in February to keep relegation-threatened Town in the Championship against all odds.
      He then signed a new one-year contract after the takeover by American Kevin Nagle.
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      Huddersfield’s win against Rotherham was their second of the season.
      They also beat West Brom before the international break.
      But before that, they had lost three of their previous four games.
      Huddersfield were also knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Middlesbrough. More

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      I’m a football owner who grew up in poverty and sold golf balls aged six, now I’m worth billions and I work with J-Lo

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      KEVIN NAGLE grew up in poverty and started selling golf balls aged just six.Now he is a multi-billionaire who works with Jennifer Lopez and Shaquille O’Neal.
      Kevin Nagle is a successful businessman who now owns Huddersfield TownCredit: Getty
      Jennifer Lopez and Nagle are both investors in NRG EsportsCredit: Getty
      And the American has become the owner of an English football club in his latest venture.
      Nagle, 68, was born in Minnesota but grew up with his two older sisters and their single mother in California.
      The family struggled financially, constantly living in poverty and being visited by debt collectors with the constant and real threat of electricity being cut off or even eviction.
      And aged six, he showed his business mind with a genius idea for his first job.
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      Nagle would find lost golf balls, clean them and then sell them to players towards the end of their rounds – although initially he lacked sales on the 18th hole for the first six weeks before moving to the 14th and 15th tees.
      The $4 he roughly made each day went straight to his mother.
      Nagle – an accomplished baseballer until a horror injury saw him lose confidence and highly-successful wrestler – went on to have a whole host of other jobs growing up.
      That included gardening, cooking burgers, washing plates, bartending and even filling up vehicles with petrol.
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      He got his first job in finance in 1980 with Los Angeles-based investment company EF Hutton – but found it “boring”.
      But the entrepreneur soon realised there was big money to be earned in the health industry, eventually co-founding his own pharmaceutical firm that was sold for £1.8billion.
      Nagle also owns The Nagle Company – a real estate firm with retail, entertainment, offices and residential developments – as well as various venture capital companies.
      But it was in sport that he made many of his billions.
      He told Comstock’s Magazine: “We concluded that the fundamentals of success are the same whether you’re playing a team sport or managing a corporation — it’s the obsession for perfection.”
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      Dad-of-two Nagle was a major investor in the Sacramento Kings NBA team, selling his shares for a reported £6.7bn.
      He is also CEO and chairman of Sacramento Republic FC, desperately trying to get them into the MLS.
      And in 2017, the businessman stumped up cash to invest in the NRG Esports company alongside the likes of J-Lo, O’Neal, Alex Rodriguez, Marshawn Lynch and Michael Strahan.
      But in 2023, the philanthropist – whose total value is unclear – spread his influence across the Pond to make his first big move into the British market when he bought Championship side Huddersfield Town from Dean Hoyle.
      The takeover was completed in June 2023 and Nagle said: “I am extremely humbled and excited to be the new steward of Huddersfield Town.
      “A special thanks to the wonderful Town supporters who have also been so supportive and patient. I know how deeply they care for this club, and I do not intend to let them down.”
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      And he will be hoping he can replicate his success at the John Smith’s Stadium by linking up with Neil Warnock to lead the Terriers back into the Premier League.
      Shaquille O’Neal is among the celebrity investors along with Nagle and J-LoCredit: Getty
      Nagle hopes Neil Warnock can lead the Terriers back to the Premier LeagueCredit: Getty More

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      I started out at big club with 20million fans where I learned how to handle pressure… and watching Netflix also helped

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      GABRIEL SARA has been watching Losers to help make him become a winner at Norwich.The Brazilian midfielder spent the summer checking out the Netflix documentary series that charts how sporting figures or teams cope with failure.
      Norwich ace Gabriel Sara won the SkyBet Championship player of the month award
      Sara fires home for Norwich against Southampton at St Mary’s
      Freshly relegated from the Premier League last summer, the Canaries had an underwhelming season back in the Championship finishing 13th.
      But Norwich have got off to a decent start this campaign and host Stoke today among the early pacesetters, just three points behind leaders Preston.
      And Sara, 24, himself, has just been named SkyBet Championship player-of-the-month after a string of impressive performances.
      He told SunSport: “We travel a lot playing football and I always keep looking for something different. 
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      “In my holiday I was preparing my mind for the new season. I thought as well as working my body I must work my mind to be better and I found this really good series on Netflix. 
      “It’s important to see it because in this industry we never know how we can handle losing games and I saw a lot of different ways of handling this. I think the best way to handle it is not losing!”One episode of the series called The Jaws of Victory tells the legendary tale of how Torquay saved their EFL status on the last day of the season and existence in 1987 thanks to one of their players, John McNichol, being bitten by a police dog called Bryn.
      The dog thought McNichol was an attacker as he came advancing towards him and sank his teeth into his upper thigh. It caused the game to be delayed by four minutes — and deep into the resulting stoppage-time Torquay snatched a late 2-2 draw against Crewe.
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      Sara added: “That Torquay story was so crazy and unbelievable. They would’ve been relegated had it not been for the dog biting their player.
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      “What was incredible also was the great celebrations after that. Although they were fighting relegation and not champions, something good can happen.”
      Sara has learned about dealing with pressure from a young age — as he came through the ranks at Brazilian giants Sao Paulo, going on to make 113 appearances and scoring 17 goals.
      And the midfield ace remembers having to overcome a tough start to his professional career.
      He said: “They’re a huge club and have something like 20million supporters so you have to play well because if you don’t things can be really crazy. 
      “For the first ten games I played really badly. But our manager at the time Fernando Diniz, who is now the Brazil national team coach,  really helped me. He and my family gave me a lot of moral support but it was so tough.
      Brazil coach Fernando Diniz helped a young Gabriel Sara massively at Sao Paulo
      “When you play for a huge team, they expect great things from you, and you want to give it to them. To my mind it was good because after that I was more mature.
      “I’ve learnt to embrace the pressure and not think about it. 
      “When you’re a kid playing football, we just enjoy it, we don’t worry about whether the other team is going to score or anything like that.
      “You can’t keep playing like a kid of course, you improve and go through many steps and win games. 
      “The club pays the wages but also football is a show – there are a lot of supporters watching the game and sometimes they will be happy. 
      “I can see this through my dad, my dad watched every game and was sometimes depressed for the whole weekend! If we win, he will go and smoke a cigar.
      “This is the same with our supporters – they will be happy for the weekend then get ready for the next game. That’s why we have to embrace the pressure and at the same time give them a good show.”
      Sara heralds from a happy family background but hard life in Brazil and was motivated to change his parents’ lives by becoming a professional footballer.
      He said: “I grew up as two boys and one sister and we played football together. My father was an ex-footballer, he played for small teams in Brazil, and taught us how to play football. 
      “It was a good childhood. We weren’t rich but not poor. My parents worked hard so we could always have food and a roof over our heads, and I think that was an important thing. 
      That Torquay story was so crazy and unbelievable. They would’ve been relegated had it not been for the dog biting their player. GABRIEL SARA
      “My mother works at a hospital and my dad used to work as a security guard, so he slept all day to work all night and that time was hard.
      “Since I started playing football, I left my house aged 13 and I had to change my parents’ life. Brazil is a great country, but everyone knows how hard it can be there. 
      “The beginning was tough and you must make some choices. Mine was to go far away from my family to try for my dream and give my parents a better life.
      “Things are much better now thanks to football.”
      Sara loves life in England and is happily settled with his girlfriend Maria.
      He said: “We love the parks, we go out to the parks with my dogs. We can set them free, and they can run, it’s really nice. 
      “We love to go to Cromer and have been there lots and have some friends there as well. And we like to go to London. It’s like Sao Paulo so sometimes we can feel familiar there. 
      “We like to go to the restaurant ‘Sao Paulo’, it’s great! We love life here. My fiancée loves being here, my parents when they come, they love it here.
      “The language was a little bit hard but even when we first came here the people are close to us and they know how it feels being from a faraway place.”
      Norwich’s start under David Wagner this season has been encouraging but Sara is the first to know nothing is achieved after only one month.
      Sara and Norwich have got off to a cracking start to the seasonCredit: PA
      Last season was a learning curve for the Canaries which the Brazilian believes will stand them in good stead for the rest of the season.
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      He said: “The hunger and desire is there and we must keep that. We cannot rest. We’ve had a great month and it’s been a good four games but must keep going.
      “I’d like to think every game is a chance to be better. If we play badly in one game you know you can put it right in the next one. We must continue with this mindset.” More

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      Forgotten Premier League star joins MLS revolution on free transfer after four months unemployed

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      A FORMER Premier League star has ended four months of unemployment by joining MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps.Winger Junior Hoilett has been a familiar name in the upper echelons of English football for the past 15 years.
      Junior Hoilett has signed a one-year deal with Vancouver WhitecapsCredit: Twitter @@WhitecapsFC
      The winger left Reading after last season’s relegation to League OneCredit: Getty
      Now the Canadian international has returned to his homeland on a deal until the end of the season following this summer’s departure from Reading.
      The 33-year-old snubbed a move to link up with his former Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock at Huddersfield Town in order to join the Whitecaps.
      And the club’s director, Axel Schuster, is delighted to have him on board.
      He said: “Junior brings a wealth of experience and leadership to our group.
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      “He has played a key role with Canada’s men’s national team over the years, having most recently helped Canada finish at the top of Concacaf qualifying for the World Cup and was the captain at the Gold Cup.
      “We are very pleased to welcome Junior and his family to the club.”
      Hoilett arrived at Blackburn Rovers in 2003 from amateur club Oakville SC and he quickly progressed through their academy alongside the likes of Phil Jones.
      After loan spells in Germany with Paderborn and St Pauli, he went on to become a regular in the Premier League for Rovers and made his debut against Manchester City on the opening day of the 2009/10 season.
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      Hoilett left in 2012 to sign for QPR but tasted relegation with the Hoops.
      However, he played a key role in helping them return to the Premier League after just one season but he departed in 2016 when his contract expired to sign for Warnock at Cardiff.
      He once again tasted top-flight action and then relegation with the Bluebirds during his five-year stint in Wales, which produced 23 goals in 173 league appearances.
      Having fallen out of favour under Mick McCarthy, he left Cardiff to sign for Reading in 2021.
      But his second season there ended in relegation to League One from the Championship and he snubbed a contract extension to become a free agent in June.
      “Wonderful surprise! Welcome to Vancouver,” wrote one fan reacting to his latest transfer move.
      Another declared that Hoilett was “gonna tear it up” while another tweeted: “Looking forward to those smooth silky moves that Junior has.” More

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      Premier League close to agreeing £130m new funding package for EFL, but parachute payments could be at risk

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      PREM clubs are set to finally agree a new extra £130million-per-year funding package for the EFL.But the cash boost will be conditional on lower division clubs accepting strict financial control rules.
      Burnley achieved promotion back to the promised land of the PremCredit: PA
      In contrast, Leicester went down, and clubs dropping to the Championship in future must now must wait to see the fate of parachute paymentsCredit: Getty
      And there is STILL no agreement on the future of parachute payments for relegated teams 
      EFL chiefs have been pushing for a massive increase of £1bn from top flight TV revenues over a three-year cycle, in addition to the current £1.6bn over the period.
      That demand was fiercely resisted by Prem club chiefs, who pointed out that many EFL club owners had deeper pockets than they did.
      But with growing pressure from the Government for the Prem and EFL to reach a deal before being ordered to accept a figure, a compromise is being hammered out ahead of next week’s meeting of the 20 top flight clubs.
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      The proposal to be put before the clubs will be for the extra cash to be distributed on a “merit” basis, determined by the final position in each of the three EFL divisions.
      As part of the agreement, clubs will also agree to costs limits of their own, limiting spending on wages and transfers to a fixed percentage of revenues.
      That will mirror – most likely at a higher threshold – the rules being introduced by UEFA over the next three seasons, which will see a maximum of 70 per cent of revenues allowed to be spent by 2025-26.
      The supposed deal would see teams at the top of the Championship nearly doubling their current annual £5.2m Prem windfall to nearer £9m.
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      But many of the Prem clubs outside the Big Six remain determined to keep the principal of parachute payments and only accept a limited reduction in their value.
      Parachute payments are currently worth up to £106m over three years for established Prem clubs like Leicester who fall out of the top flight.
      And some of the smaller Prem clubs are arguing that they should have less tight spending restrictions in the event of relegation and the clubs they join in the Championship. More

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      From Jude Bellingham to Premier League regulars, the incredible list of stars who were playing in Championship pre-Covid

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      JUDE BELLINGHAM is now a Real Madrid star but not long ago he was playing in the star-studded Championship with Birmingham.Taking a look back at 2019/20 season, the second tier had a host of incredible talents that have since been snapped up by bigger clubs.
      Jude Bellingham started off in the second tier with BirminghamCredit: Getty
      Jarrod Bowen is now a West Ham heroCredit: Getty
      Leeds, West Brom and Fulham all got promoted that year.
      From international stars to Premier League regulars, SunSport take a look back at the players who have lived up to the hype.
      Jude Bellingham – Birmingham
      The biggest success story from the pre-Covid season is Bellingham.
      He made his senior debut that year, becoming the club’s youngest ever first-team player at 16 years, 38 days.
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      The wonderkid started 35 games for the Blues before being snapped up by Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
      Bellingham impressed in Germany and captained the side while still being a teenager.
      After three seasons, the central midfielder moved to Real Madrid for a British record £115million.
      Jarrod Bowen – Hull
      Bowen entered the 19/20 season having scored 36 goals across the previous two Championship campaigns with Hull.
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      He continued his fine scoring run as he netted 16 by the end of January with his quality now too apparent for Premier League teams to ignore.
      It was West Ham who signed him in the winter for £18m with £7m coming in add-ons.
      Since joining the Hammers, Bowen has remained on fire and become a club hero when he scored a 90th minute winner in the Conference League final to end their 43-year wait for a major trophy.
      The winger has also been capped four times by England.
      Kalvin Phillips – Leeds
      Under Marcelo Bielsa it was Leeds who lifted the title in 2020 with Phillips an integral part of the team.
      With the Englishman in the heart of the midfield, the Whites then consolidated their position in the top-flight.
      Philips’ form led to him becoming a Three Lions regularly and he then secured a move to Treble winners Manchester City for £42m.
      However, he has struggled to land a regular spot in the team.
      Ollie Watkins – Brentford
      Watkins is now leading the line for Aston Villa as they begin the journey into European football in the Conference League.
      The striker helped fire Unai Emery’s men to a seventh place finish last season with 15 league goals.
      But back in 19/20, Watkins enjoyed a stellar final year in the Championship, netting 26 times for Brentford to share the golden boot with Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic.
      Ollie Watkins scored goals for fun at BrentfordCredit: Getty
      Said Benrahma – Brentford
      Watkins’ partner in crime at Brentford was Said Benrahma as the Bees lost in the play-off final to the Cottagers, before they eventually sealed promotion the following year.
      The Algerian winger scored 30 goals in two Championship seasons and earned a big-money transfer across London to West Ham.
      Like Bowen, Benrahma is a regular for the Irons and wrote himself into the history books when he scored in the Conference League final.
      Bryan Mbuemo – Brentford
      Mbeumo’s first season in England was the 19/20 season as he penned a five-year contract for then club record £5.8m fee.
      He fired the club to promotion a year after joining and is now one of the Premier League’s most deadly attackers and arguably Brentford’s main man when Ivan Toney isn’t available.
      Marc Guehi – Swansea
      The Swans picked up the Chelsea centre-back on loan for the second half of the season in question.
      He earned rave reviews in the Championship and Crystal Palace signed him soon after for £18m.
      Guehi is now an England regular and Eagles club captain.
      Michael Olise – Reading
      Olise enjoyed his first full season in the Reading senior team four years ago.
      The wonderkid eventually found his feet and was crowned EFL Young Player of the Season in 2021.
      Olise’s talent saw him follow Guehi to Crystal Palace and big clubs like Chelsea have since been keen to sign him.
      Eberechi Eze – QPR
      Eze was another off the Championship production line to head to Palace.
      He made the 19/20 Team of the Year and he has gone from strength to strength in South London, becoming their main man in attack and hitting ten goals last season.
      Ben White – Leeds
      White came so close to getting his hands on the Premier League title with Arsenal last year.
      But he first caught the attention of scouts at big clubs in 2019 while on loan from Brighton and Leeds.
      His composure on the ball helped guide Leeds to promotion and see him establish himself as a Prem regular for the Seagulls before he made the £50m switch to the Gunners.
      Leeds had Ben White on loan for the 19/20 campaignCredit: Getty
      Eddie Nketiah – Leeds
      White’s Arsenal team-mate Nketiah was also part of the Leeds team that year.
      He arrived at Elland Road on a season-long loan and scored five goals en route to ending the club’s 16-year wait for a return to the top-flight.
      Nketiah has since proved himself as a Premier League poacher and Gareth Southgate handed him his first senior England call-up this season.
      Conor Gallagher – West Brom
      Gallagher burst onto the scene as an energetic midfielder on loan from Chelsea at both Charlton and Swansea in the 2019/20 campaign.
      He has now nailed down his place in the Chelsea starting XI under Mauricio Pochettino and is a regular in the England squad.
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      Matty Cash – Nottingham Forest
      Cash was named Forest’s Player of the Year during the Championship’s special prodigy-filled season.
      It earned him a switch to Aston Villa being an integral part of the team and becoming a regular for the Polish national team. More

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      I’m a former Premier League star – now I’m an extreme mountaineer looking to face my fear and climb Everest

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      DARIUS HENDERSON is aiming to become the first professional footballer to climb Mount Everest – despite his fear of heights.The striker spent one season in the Premier League with Watford in 2006-07.
      Darius Henderson is aiming to reach new heights by climbing Mount EverestCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      And he is hoping to use his experience in the top flight will help him as he scales new – and unbeatable – heights on top of the world.
      But Henderson admits he does struggle with big drops.
      And considering he was recently on a perilous Mont Blanc ridge where any mistake or slight misstep in crampons would have been fatal, his venture as an extreme mountaineer is certainly not a task for the fainthearted.
      The 42-year-old – who plans to go up and down the tallest peak within 12 days – admitted part of that fear is what drives him.
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      Henderson told The Independent: “It does scare me a little bit… to overcome my fears is probably a driving force behind this, I can only put it down to that.
      “I have to dedicate a lot of time to the training aspect, something that needs planning. It’s a sacrifice over a number of years. You can’t just sign up for Mount Everest.
      “There’s a process and a journey, which takes a lot of sacrifice and dedication to achieve that end goal, so it’s kind of like reliving my life as a footballer. The training, the focus you need, the bravery, just in a different field.
      “I loved matches, I loved competing, I loved the battle. While I’m doing these climbs, and I’m on the mountain, it is horrible, it’s gruelling, it’s painful, but to get to the top is all worth it. And to be able to say, ‘I’ve done that mountain.’”
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      Henderson spent 18 years as a pro, starting out at Reading before permanent spells with Gillingham, Watford, Sheffield United, Millwall, Nottingham Forest, Leyton Orient, Scunthorpe, Coventry and finally Mansfield.
      The target man scored in the Championship play-off final in 2006, firing Watford into the Premier League where he grabbed three goals, and joined the Blades for £2million two years later.
      He was forced to retire in 2017 due to a lack of cartilage in the vertebrae of his neck, preventing him from heading the ball properly.
      But despite the issues, he is continuing to put his body through its paces trekking up mountains around the globe.
      The change in path started with a hike up Snowdon in January 2019 and at the end of 2021, he decided to pursue the dream of conquering Everest.
      I’m not going there to dieDarius Henderson
      Henderson can now go up and down Snowdown FOUR times in a day and has done extreme winter skills training in Scotland.
      Cotopaxi in Ecuador – now classed an active volcano – Italy’s Gran Paradiso, Europe’s highest point Mont Blanc in France and the South American equivalent Aconcague in Argentina have all been ticked off.
      And now final preparations have turned to completing the incredible feat in Nepal.
      Henderson added: “I enjoy being in an environment where I can’t help but be in survival mode, in a tent, 6,000m in the air, freezing cold, minus 20, waiting to summit.
      “You can’t sleep very well but it all adds to the theatre of being able to say you’ve done this.
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      “I’ve got five children but then my driving force is to make sure that I’m fully prepared and as fit as possible because, let’s face it, I’m not going there to die.
      “I’m going there to summit and to achieve something that under one per cent of people are able to achieve.”
      Henderson scored his penalty for Watford in the 2006 Championship play-off finalCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      The striker managed three goals in the Premier LeagueCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      Henderson was a target man up front but retired due to neck cartilage issuesCredit: Action Images – Reuters More