KARL Henry hopes the City faithful can continue to be a big noise in the fight for League One survival.

Henry is two games into his two-month deal after willingly diving into another battle to beat the drop.

And the veteran scrapper has been instantly impressed with the quality of support, both in numbers and backing, for a side stuck at the bottom.

He said: “There are big clubs all around the country but to see 19,000 fans in this league last week was incredible. They were brilliant as well.

“Quite often when teams are struggling, supporters will get on their backs and probably rightly so.

“There is a lot of criticism and sometimes home grounds can be difficult places to play.

“Seeing how good that support was and how vocal they were was really important.

“It was really encouraging to see how great the supporters were in my first game – and also on Tuesday night at Luton.

“We lost 4-0 but our fans were clapping and maybe appreciating the second half when we played well. That’s really encouraging.”

Henry was pivotal in Bolton’s last-gasp scramble to safety last season and can recall the negative atmosphere they encountered at Sunderland, who were relegated.

“The home fans were on their backs from minute one,” he added.

“They were giving the players so much stick and you could see the team were nervy and couldn’t pass the ball.

“We ended up drawing the game 3-3 but the fans were wondering why the players can’t play.

“I know football players earn good money and all that but we’re human beings and there are young lads in the team. When you’ve got thousands of fans giving them abuse it does not help.

“Speaking to the lads here, they’ve said the fans have given them a bit of stick – and probably rightly so at times. But it’s not been to the point of affecting us on the pitch and being a detriment.”

Phil Parkinson whetted his appetite to add City to a long CV and having just turned 36, Henry has no intention of winding down in his career.

But after five months out of the game, he admits such a short-term deal is a new experience.

Henry said: “I’ve never signed a two-month contract before. It’s a weird one.

“But the manager gets a chance to see what I can bring to the club up to January, when they can bring in more players.

“For me, I was 36 on Monday and still feel I’ve got plenty left in me. I’ve been desperate to get back out and play.

“I’ve been in club football since I was 11, training full time and when you’re not doing that, you certainly miss it.”

Henry only had one training session with his latest club before being thrown straight in to his winning debut against Oxford. But he feels that he has quickly settled in.

“Fitting into the group was easy,” he added. “But I’ve been in a number of different changing rooms and by and large it’s like any workplace.

“Eighty per cent are great lads, 10 per cent weirdos and 10 per cent not-so-great guys – but I’ve not found those yet.

“They are a really good bunch and have been very welcoming.

“I’m opinionated, I’m vocal and I believe I know what needs to be done. I’ve played a lot of games in the Football League and I think it’s important to be organised. It can give you the edge over those who aren’t.

"Not everyone is the same but I’ve already seen in this group that we’ve actually got a lot of vocal players.”