New Portadown midfielder believes club is still one of Irish League's biggest despite Championship status

​The 23-year-old is one of five players that joined the Shamrock Park outfit this week as manager Niall Currie looks to battle on all fronts, including securing Irish Cup progression when he takes his current side to a former one in Carrick Rangers on Saturday afternoon.

Portadown, who currently sit fourth in the Championship table, have enjoyed great success in cup competitions throughout the current campaign, reaching the Mid-Ulster Cup final against Dungannon Swifts and they’ll also tackle local rivals Glenavon in the BetMcLean Cup semis later this month.

Henderson admits the club’s rich history was a motivating factor when switching from Bangor.

"It's a massive appeal,” he said. “I told the gaffer that outside of Linfield and Glentoran, Portadown to me is the next biggest club in the country.

"They don't deserve to be where they are, but myself, the coaching staff and my teammates have the objective of getting this club back up at the first time of asking.

"Portadown is a massive football club and the fans have had to go through a lot over the last number of years with it being up and down, but we want to give them everything.

"There's a massive expectation on us to go up this year and there's no getting away from that.

"There's a target on our back every single week, but we have a brilliant dressing room full of experience with guys that have won Irish League titles, Irish Cup's and played in Europe.

"We know the expectation and I hope that we can get the run going now."

Henderson played nearly 50 Premiership matches during his time at Ballymena United and joins former Sky Blues teammates such as Ross Redman and Dougie Wilson in the Ports changing room.

"That was another big reason why I signed,” he added. “You can see the talent, quality and experience we have with the likes of Ryan Mayse, Dougie Wilson, Ross Redman, Gary Thompson, Eamon Fyfe, Paul McElroy.

"There are a number of players in the squad that I played with at Ballymena so it helps me settle faster.

"There's a lot of quality and even at training on Tuesday the intensity was unbelievable and I'm looking forward to getting on the pitch."

Henderson is no stranger to Irish Cup success having made an appearance in the 2021/22 final when Ballymena cruelly lost 2-1 against Crusaders and he’s hoping to help his new club take the next step on their journey at Taylor’s Avenue.

"It's going to be a battle,” he said. “We have enough quality and if we're at the top of our game there aren't many clubs in the country that could live with us - that's the amount of confidence we have.

"We know if we're at our best that we can be hard to stop. If you look at the results already this season, they've beaten Crusaders, Loughgall and those sorts of clubs.

"Carrick are a good side and known for having a good home record. They play the pitch well, but we know if we are on it that we're a match for anybody."