Henry helps me a lot - Richards

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

With the likes of former France and Arsenal great Thierry Henry and ex-Barcelona and current Mexico captain Rafael Marquez among the ranks, it's a surprise to some that Jamaican striker Dane Richards is the man grabbing all the headlines these days at US Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit New York Red Bulls.

The diminutive Richards, 26, can do no wrong in the big city these days and underlined his class during his last game against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, when he helped himself to a delightful goal before serving another on a platter for Henry in a 2-0 win.

Richards sped through the Earthquakes' back-line before dispatching a powerful shot beyond the goalkeeper and helped Henry to his first MLS goal in what was dubbed by many to be his best game in a Red Bulls jersey. Before that, Richards was a constant thorn against post-season and preseason European opposition, such as Juventus, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspurs.

Despite the new-found attention, the former Seba United player is not allowing his feet to leave the ground, and took time out to credit his improvement to his new teammates and his desire to keep improving his game. Richards is full of confidence but is also hoping to replicate his positive club form into the national team as he gets ready to tackle Costa Rica in Sunday's friendly international at the National Stadium.

Keep working

"The feedback I have been getting is that I have been playing well so, hopefully, I can continue and bring this good form into the national team and help us to a win on Sunday," said Richards. "But I can't let it (praises) get to my head, I just have to keep working. This is my job and if I stop working hard then I will lose my job.

"It's unbelievable, I used to watch these guys (Henry, Marquez) play World Cup and so on and now I'm playing in the same team with them. They bring with them a vast amount of experience and class and each game and training session you learn so much from them. They have and will definitely help to improve my game," Richards said.

The striker highlighted Henry as his biggest inspiration and shared that he has learnt a lot from the Frenchman during their time together at the club.

"Henry is a class player, even in practice he does some stuff that is just unbelievable," said Richards. "He is one of my favourite players but I also know that I can't allow myself to be over-awed by this because at the end of the day I have to go out there and show my worth.

"He (Henry) always tells me that once I'm behind (the defensive line) there is nobody in the league that can catch me so I just focus on making the right runs, and it's been very successful to date and I want to continue doing this," he added.

Richards is now looking to continue working on his game and is already sure of the areas that need his immediate attention.

"I know that my speed is my strongest point, once I get behind the defensive line I'm going to cause problems for them, so I'm looking to use that and at the same time work on my shooting and first touch," said Richards.