Brad Potts on his first senior goal
Teenage midfielder Brad Potts marked his 57th appearance for the club with a long awaited first senior goal and a man of the match performance as he helped his side to a much needed victory over MK Dons on Tuesday night.
We spoke to him this morning to get his reaction to what, on a personal level, was a very memorable night.
“It was a great moment for me,” he agreed. “I saw David Amoo running down the line and I knew we needed bodies in the box. I ran in there and fortunately it came through to me.
“I nearly dived past the ball if I’m being honest. I was just delighted to see it go in and relieved that I’d scored my first goal. I was absolutely buzzing after that. All the lads jumped on top of me straight away because they knew what it meant to me.”
“No doubt there’ll be plenty of comments and banter in training but I don’t really mind now that I have finally scored. The lads give me stick for missing all the time anyway so I’m more than happy to take more of it, especially when I have actually managed to get one.”
“I can’t remember what was said when everyone was jumping on top of me but I could hear Bez [James Berrett] shouting that I’d nearly missed it,” he revealed. “I wasn’t really listening because I was off in a world of my own. It’s been a long time coming and it really is a great feeling.
“It’s definitely a weight off my shoulders. Kav and some of the lads have spoken to me before every game about getting my first goal and I tried to make sure the fact it hadn’t happened didn’t affect me. Hopefully I’ll push on from this and score more.”
“I used to get goals for the youth team from midfield so I don’t really know what’s been going on,” he told us. “I’ve been rushing it, or something like that, and I’ve had quite a few chances along the way. They just haven’t been going in for me.
“I talk to Liam Noble about it all the time and he keeps telling me to make sure I hit the target. When it hits the post, or the keeper pulls off a save, it does start to get you down. All you can do is keep going and hope that it will come. I know that you need to chip in with goals as a midfielder and I’m hoping I can go on a bit of a run.”
“Kav talks to me about the mental side of my game and I think that has helped me a lot,” he revealed. “He actually said before kick off last night that it was going to be my week so it was good to hit the back of the net and prove him right.
“Midfield is a position I feel comfortable in but I don’t think I’ve had a long run there up to now. That’s happening for me now and I’m really happy that the manager is showing that he believes in me. I didn’t start a game for quite a while when he first took over but he pulled me to one side and told me what he needed from me.
“He’s spoken to me recently and said that I’ve changed and grown as a player. I think that’s why I’ve been playing regularly and I just want to keep pushing on from here.”
As to the importance of the win and the clean sheet, he said: “The lads knew how important it was for us to get a result. The dressing room was buzzing after the game but we know we need to be consistent with this type of performance.
“We knew after Colchester last weekend that we needed three points and I thought the performance showed that message had sunk in. We played really well and we deserved it.
“We now want to take this to Bristol on Saturday and get a result down there. If we do that then it will open up a bit of a gap and it will push us away from them.”
With his form improving all the time, and the January transfer a hive of speculation, he could be forgiven for taking his eye off the ball as rumours circulate that he is being linked with a number of potential moves.
“I just keep concentrating on Carlisle,” he insisted. “I’ll give 100% for the club as long as I’m here.
“It’s good to be involved when I’m playing well and I’m enjoying every minute. You do see the reports and Kav had a joke with me to tell me I wasn’t going anywhere.
“It’s not something you can let affect you because I knew I was always going to be staying here anyway, whatever was said. I have another year left after this and it’s good to know I have that time to continue to develop and progress. Hopefully I’ll keep playing with confidence all the way through.”
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