Henry keen to put nightmare of last season behind him

FOR most players, a move to the Nou Camp is a dream come true. For Thierry Henry, it was more akin to a nightmare.

It was not the club itself which was a problem – the Frenchman happily remains on the books at Barcelona and is looking forward to contributing a lot more this season. But the form of the team in general was poor, and, while Henry fell just short of the 20-goal mark, his season was hampered by an attempt to return from injury too soon.

Little wonder, then, that as he looked forward to tomorrow evening's Murrayfield match against Hibernian then the Saturday game at Dundee United, the Frenchman admitted he was already looking further ahead, to a season in which he hopes to justify the faith his present employers showed in him when they signed him from Barcelona.

"The best is definitely still to come from me at Barcelona," Henry said yesterday after the squad's morning training session at the University of St Andrews. "Hopefully it can't be worse than it was last season.

"I had to move to a new town. I had to learn a new language. And I arrived injured and made a mistake in wanting to play straight away instead of working with the fitness coach to get myself in shape. But without playing well I scored 19 goals. I can work really hard and hopefully put the ball in the net even more. I am fit now and I have the desire and commitment to succeed."

He is also fluent in Spanish now, and has settled into his new home. He may have lost half a yard of pace from his absolute peak, but provided he remains injury-free there is no reason why Henry should not achieve greater consistency than he did last season.

It was here in Scotland, of course, that his Barcelona career began this time last season when he scored from the penalty spot – or rather from the rebound – against Dundee United. That match and the one two days later against Hearts were right at the start of Barcelona's pre-season training, and at times they were played at walking pace. But, while not overestimating the importance of those games, Henry recalled fondly the reception he and his colleagues had received then.

"To be honest, I didn't expect the kind of reception we got at Tannadice last year," he continued. "The atmosphere was excellent. It is always a great feeling when you play in Scotland. When we came to Hampden with France I told the players who hadn't experienced British football before they had better expect a big atmosphere. In Scotland when the national anthem starts playing it is crazy and my team-mates felt 'wow' at hearing it. Even though we lost at Hampden I admired the Scotland fans for the backing they gave their team."

If there was any doubt about Henry's ability to spot a good player, it was surely abolished last year when he praised the skills of Barry Robson. Within months, the Dundee United player had vindicated his opponent's words by winning a move to Celtic, for whom he played against Barcelona in the Champions League.

"I talked about Barry Robson last year because when we played Dundee United I saw he had a lot of talent," he recalled. "He had a really good game, he kept the ball well and was dangerous going forward. It was no surprise when I heard he'd signed for Celtic and then when he scored against us because he has a lot of quality and he belongs on that stage. It was just a matter of time to see him going to a team like Celtic.

"When I was here last year Scottish people told me you didn't have good players. I think you have good players. Scottish people think they have no good players, but last season I picked him because I saw talent there. I expect that when we play against United and Hibs this time I will see more players who have a lot of ability."

Another player with a lot of ability is Alexander Hleb, signed by Barça from Arsenal. "Alex is a versatile player. He can play on the right, on the left, and is comfortable as a striker. He changes games in a split second, has brilliant technique and is good with both feet. I will have to stop now because I am making him sound like Pele. But he has a lot of qualities and will bring a new vision to our team so I expect him to be a big success."

Henry retains a fondness for the club he and Hleb left, and is convinced Arsenal can challenge for honours this season. "I sat here last season saying the same thing; that Arsenal can win something this season. In the end they didn't, but they could have. I think it's the same scenario this year.

"Because players have left people expect them to be weaker this year. I don't know how he does it, but Arsene Wenger always finds players to come in and fill the gaps. People often look at them and say they don't think so, but in the end he proves them wrong. I'm an Arsenal fan. I think they can have a big season this year."

TIMELINE

Thierry Henry's career

• MONACO (1994-99): Apps: 110 Goals: 20 Honours: French league winner 1997, French young player of the year 1996, 97

• JUVENTUS (1999) Apps: 16 Goals: 3

• ARSENAL (1999-2007) Apps: 254 Goals: 174 Honours: League winner 2002, 2004, FA Cup winner 2002, 03, Player of the year 2003, 2004

• BARCELONA (2007-) Apps: 30 Goals 12

• FRANCE (1997-)Apps: 102 Goals: 45 Honours: World Cup winner 1998, European Nations Cup winner 2000