Midfielder Brad Potts on disappointment and bouncing back
Midfielder Brad Potts notched up an impressive 44 appearances in what was a good season on a personal level last time round but, having come through the club’s youth system to earn a professional contract two season’s ago, admitted he was finding relegation hard to take when we caught up with him last week.
“All I can do is repeat what everyone else has said,” he told us. “Relegation was the last thing we all wanted and I felt absolutely devastated when it happened.
“I was gutted for the club, the fans and the players because I really don’t think anyone deserved it.
“I took it badly at the time and, to be honest, I was quite upset about it. I saw that some of the fans at Wolves were really upset as well and that was hard to take. The dressing room after that Wolves game wasn’t a great place to be because everyone felt so down and deflated.”
“You do feel responsible for the part you played in it because we’re the ones who are paid to go out on the pitch and get results,” he told us. “The simple fact is that we weren’t good enough on too many occasions and the results reflected that.
“We’ve got to get it behind us now and get ready to kick things off properly in pre-season. All our fans want to see is a team giving 110% and I know that’s something I’ll be doing. I’ve been going to the gym a lot since the end of the season and I’ll be starting my running next week so that I’m ready to get back into it from day one.”
“I definitely feel ready for the challenge next season will bring,” he added. “If you aren’t up for it then you shouldn’t really even turn up in the first place. We’ll try to play our football but I know we’ll have to battle for the right to do that against some of the teams we’ll come up against.”
“On a personal level my target last season was to get more starts under my belt than I’d had the season before,” he revealed. “I achieved that so it’ll be more of the same from me. I’ll get my head down and try to make sure I’m selected as much as possible.
“The arrival of new players will mean that there will be competition for places but I think that’s a good thing for all of us. Everyone will have to be at their best or they’ll lose their place. If you’re looking over your shoulder at someone who can step in, at the drop of a hat, it makes you play better in my opinion. I’m looking forward to that part of it.”
“I spoke to the manager on the Tuesday after the season ended and he told me what he wants from me next season,” he said. “It’s now up to me to knuckle down and be as fit and as strong as possible to give myself every chance of cementing my place in the team.
“It would be great to part of a team which is winning games and bringing the fans back. Hopefully that’s exactly what will happen.”
