Instead, on Sunday, and some five and a half years after being signed by Slaven Bilic, he will be part of a Morecambe squad aiming to shoot a famous FA Cup giant murder.
Hendrie dreamed that such games would become the norm when he left Hamilton at age 20.
He got an apartment in Canary Wharf and was part of an exciting group of emerging players in West Ham.
But his hopes of establishing himself under Bilic never came true. He never even made an appearance at the first-team level – instead being sent on loan to Southend and Blackburn before joining Southend as a free agent in 2017.
“I spent two years and it was decent, to be fair,” says Hendrie. “Obviously I had loans so I didn’t have that much playing time, but I don’t regret a thing. It was a good decision.
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“It was a program that I could never refuse at the age I was and where I was at this stage.
“It made me better because it made me more experienced. I have no regrets about it, I’m just glad I did.
“It was exciting and scary because you come from here, from a small club. The first team locker room, you’re like ‘Wow’. I was so nervous. But I loved it.
Hendrie adds: “Mark Noble was there, (Manuel) Lanzini, (Dimitri) Payet, (Pedro) Obiang and Adrian.
“Declan Rice – I played with him a lot in the Under 23s. Grady Diangara, who now works at West Brom and Reece Oxford. It was a great group.
“Some of these boys continued to do brilliantly.
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“With Declan, you knew he would keep doing good things. You might just say. He played a lot as a central defender when I was there. When center-backs can get the ball off their feet, you know they’re going to stand a chance.
“He was amazing with the ball at his feet. His skills were so good. Its application outside the park as well. He did a lot more. I could always tell he was going to be a top player.
Hendrie, now 25, joined League Two Morecambe in August and was a key figure in their promotion.
They are currently five points behind leader Carlisle although they had to enter a 10-day post-Christmas isolation period following a Covid-19 outbreak.
He has seen their last two games postponed, meaning they haven’t played since Boxing Day.
Fears that their link to Chelsea might be in doubt have been dispelled after the team returned to training this week.
While Morecambe had their feet on the ground, Frank Lampard’s team suffered a form fit.
Four defeats in their last six games have seen them drop from first to ninth in the Premier League and sparked speculation about the Chelsea manager’s future.
A chance for Morecambe to inflict more pain on Lampard – or is it about being wary of the injured animal?
Hendrie makes no claims about the potential upheaval.
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“It’s not because it’s an injured animal, it’s because it’s Chelsea,” he said. “I watched the game on Sunday (against Manchester City), but it wasn’t because we were playing them, it was because the football was on.
“It’s a big day for the club and a big day for us. We will go there without any pressure on us.
“We have to go out there and do our best. We’re going to go out there and just enjoy the day and embrace it. Some of us will never have that chance again.
“We did well. We are seventh because two games have been canceled. We also have two matches in progress.
“It’s a chance to show people why we’re doing well, why we’re at the top of Ligue 2 and going there and trying to show what we’re doing.
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