Preston North End man puts onus on players amid 'pressure' Stoke City and West Brom clashes
PNE man spoke to the Lancashire Post ahead of Tuesday's trip to Stoke City
Preston North End man Brad Potts says it’s on the players to take responsibility and push up the table.
The Lilywhites head into the midweek round of fixtures sitting 20th in the Championship - having won three, drawn seven and lost four games under boss Paul Heckingbottom. The 47-year-old was appointed on August 20, with defeats to Sheffield United and Swansea City already suffered by PNE.
Since then, North End have put in some strong performances but not picked up three points - notably against Burnley, Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers and Norwich City. They also threw a 3-0 lead away at Plymouth Argyle, to draw. Potts felt the team were heading in the right direction, prior to that day.
“Yeah, bar one or two games I think you could tell we had a way of playing and what we were trying to do,” said Potts. “The Plymouth game, we should’ve been about six-nil up if I’m honest. It is one of them where you come back home and we couldn’t believe that we actually drew the game. It is what it is and it’s part of football. We had to bounce back from that and we didn’t.
“And yeah, when you are losing games and not picking up as many points, it does put pressure on each game that is coming. So, it is down to us. We cannot get help from anyone else. The players have to do it on the pitch and make sure we do get those results. I think we should have standards for ourselves, anyway, as a team. We know what we need to do.
“You can see that, in the games, we have been aggressive and, out of possession, we’ve kind of looked solid. We’ve probably been a bit more attacking. I think we have found it harder against the likes of Derby and Millwall - teams like that who go long and you’ve got to just win the second balls and things. But, you can see against the top teams that we’ve done well and been more on the front foot.”
Preston finished 10th last season, but had an incredible start to the campaign to thank - as 20 points were picked up from the first eight games. North End managed 43 in their last 38 fixtures, with one win in the final eight and just four goals scored - all of those coming in one match. Throw into the mix Ryan Lowe’s exit one game into this season, and the number 44 agrees there was a lot to fix - as well as the fact performances, like at Portsmouth and Millwall, simply cannot be repeated.
“I think so,” said Potts. “We did well in patches last season, I think, but it’s been a common theme since I have been at the club... we go on good runs, then go on bad runs. There is not really much consistency, so yeah, we just need to try and get back on track first and foremost. We cannot look too far ahead or beyond tomorrow night, because we know we need to start winning games.
“We cannot play how we did against Sunderland and then go and do what we did against Portsmouth. It is just unacceptable, but that’s what I said before about the difference in teams we are playing against. We have to find a way against those like Portsmouth and Millwall, and the top teams as well. It is consistency against every team.”
On the 30-year-old’s own game, one of his best performances this campaign came at Turf Moor - when Heckingbottom deployed Potts in an attacking midfield role on derby day. The number 44 put in a strong showing against Scott Parker’s side and felt there could be an opening for him in that role. But, injury to Robbie Brady has since seen Potts return to right wing-back.
“Yeah, obviously I played at Burnley and was kind of thinking I’d maybe get a run in the middle,” said Potts. “Then, I got injured didn’t I? And Robbie then got injured, so it is what it is. Obviously, I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to be in there. But, I am happy to play anywhere. I just want to try and help the team... I am a team player and I genuinely just want us to win games. That is it.”
And even closer to home, Potts has been a dad for more than a year now - to his son, Teddy. It has been a big lifestyle change, but the 30-year-old is embracing every step of fatherhood.
“Yeah, it is amazing,” said Potts. “He is running around now and it’s actually more of a day off coming in, really. At home it is just carnage until he goes to bed, but it’s obviously amazing and he does take my mind off things a little bit. Sometimes it does make you realise there is more to life. He’s got both (a PNE and Newcastle shirt), but I am going to say he had a Preston one first!”