TERRIER INCE: I KNOW I WILL GET HAMMERED
TOM INCE’S father will stick to watching the game on TV when the Huddersfield winger faces the wrath of West Ham’s fans on Monday.
Ince expects a rough ride from supporters still furious at the way his dad Paul left them for Manchester United in 1989.
The former England captain was photographed posing in a United shirt before the deal was completed and has never been forgiven for it.
Ince junior (left), 25, has also had plenty of stick over the move, even though it happened two years before he was born.
He laughs off the abuse he gets from opposing fans who remember his dad, saying: “It’s the same as I get at Leeds.” And he is not expecting Ince senior (below), nicknamed ‘The Guv’nor’ in his playing days, to pop into the London Stadium.
“He’s definitely not going, that’s for sure,” Ince junior said.
“It’s one of those games where he knows I’m going to get stick. But it’s football. You have to enjoy these moments.
“You have to enjoy getting it because I believe you must be a half-decent player if you’re getting stick. If given an opportunity to play, I hope a goal will quieten a few of them.”
Ince junior was only 20 when he made his one previous away appearance against the Hammers, suffering a torrent of abuse and a 4-0 defeat when he played at Upton Park with Blackpool in 2011. He scored against them at Wembley in the Championship play-off final at the end of that season, but was a loser again as Ricardo Vaz Te gave West Ham a 2-1 win. The winger is relishing a crack at the Hammers in the Premier League after joining Huddersfield from Derby in July, but expects it to be feisty. “I keep getting stick because of his misdemeanours from a previous time,” said Ince. “But I’m proud of the name on my shirt. I’m proud of what he’s done and what he’s achieved.
“If people want to criticise that and criticise me because my old man was a good player, then so be it.
“It doesn’t affect me. I’m old enough now and wise enough to block that out and concentrate on my game.”
Ince believes the Hammers are still suffering as a result of leaving their daunting old home for the London Stadium.
“It was a tight pitch at Upton Park, the fans were on top of you,” he added. “Maybe they intimidated other teams and that’s probably why West Ham were so strong there.”