Potts is eager to get the most from his overdue opportunity
BRAD POTTS is intent on putting a difficult summer behind him after being handed a cherished Championship chance.
The highly-rated former Blackpool midfielder is pushing for a home debut in the Carabao Cup this evening against Morecambe, fresh from a whirlwind few days that saw him sign for Barnsley and then be handed an immediate bow in Saturday’s league opener at Bristol City.
Head coach Paul Heckingbottom had pursued Potts for the entire close season, but after being thwarted on a couple of occasions to sign the 23-year-old, his persistence has now paid off.
Potts, who admits that he was not expecting to be handed his full debut at Ashton Gate, which represented a pleasant surprise, said: “During the summer when I was off on my holidays, they had obviously made offers, which Blackpool had rejected. They did not even reject it (at first); they didn’t even respond to start with.
“So it was hard to try and get my head around where I was going to be at. But I knew when I went back to Blackpool, I had to start the season well if I was there.
“But I am thankful that Barnsley came back in and that Blackpool accepted it. It was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to come here. But it was just whether it was going to happen or not. I would have liked it if it had happened a few weeks before the season, so I could have bedded in before. But I don’t mind, as long as I finally got here.”
Meanwhile, head coach Heckingbottom says he is ‘really close’ to signing four new players.
The Reds are seeking their first home win in 199 days tonight, with their last success coming way back on January 21. FOR Paul Warne and his management team, the pain of every setback for Rotherham United is twofold.
The Millers are not just Warne’s employers, but also the club for which he will always feel a deep and lasting sense of affection.
The situation is the same for his team of Richie Barker, John Breckin, Matt Hamshaw and Mike Pollitt.
A deflating opening-day loss at Fleetwood took the shine off a vibrant pre-season for the new-look Millers, who were backed by 1,100 fans on the Fylde coast.
Warne is acutely conscious of the need not to pass up successive home matches in cup and league against the Red Imps and Southend in his quest to retain the levels of positivity from a hitherto bright summer.
He said: “We harp on about the fact that we are all Rotherham people here who are running the club at the moment and are all massive fans who love the club and are trying to do well and bring success back.
“But when you lose a game, you do not want people to start losing belief in you.
“We are going to lose football matches, obviously. But you do not want to lose back-to-back games to put more pressure on the lads for Saturday.”
Warne has confirmed that he is “pretty close” to bringing in a couple of defenders, a right-back and a centre-half.
Warne, also seeking to bring another central midfielder before the end of the month, said: “One is virtually done. The other, a younger lad, is now at the club to train. He would be backup for Semi (Ajayi).”