Potts: Away days can suit Pool better

Brad Potts is hoping to be fit enough to face his former team-mates this afternoon

Just 2,080 turned out to watch the Seasiders draw 0-0 against Crawley Town on Tuesday night, which was their lowest league attendance of the season.

Pool’s average home gate has plummeted by more than 50 per cent from last season to just 3,313, with their only high coming against Carlisle United back in September, when 5,471 were in attendance – although 2,752 were in the away end.

And Potts, who is facing a race against time to be fit to face his former side in the return fixture at Brunton Park this afternoon, said playing away from home can sometimes suit this Blackpool side.

“I don’t really feel like there’s much pressure here (at Bloomfield Road) compared to being away,” he said.

“Obviously we don’t have much support here so that’s probably difficult in itself in terms of the atmosphere around here.

“But going away from home I’m not really sure if there’s any difference. We just approach every game the same.

“It does spur you on a bit when there’s more fans there and you might be getting a bit of stick off them. But I feel that when we play away from home teams come at us and we’re a better team on the break.

“Whereas when teams come here and just sit in it’s hard to break them down.”

Potts, who was the subject of transfer interest from Charlton Athletic during the January transfer window, has been plagued by injuries in the last couple of months but he insists his sole focus is getting back to full fitness.

“There were no bids in January and I’m still a Blackpool player, so I’m here and I’ve just got to focus on Blackpool and getting us in the play-offs,” he added.

“I’ve obviously been frustrated over Christmas without scoring and then getting injured as well. It is frustrating but I’ve just got to get my head down and work as hard as possible to get back fit.”

The 22-year-old, who made more than 100 appearances for Carlisle, says it would be a dream come true to play and score against his former side.

“If there’s one fixture I want to be fit for it’s this one,” he said. “I still keep in touch with plenty of people around the ground and I still get some messages.

“I’m best mates with the keeper (Mark Gillespie) too so I keep in touch with him, so it will be strange going back but I’m looking forward to it.

“I’m not really sure how I’ll react if I score. I got asked the same question when they played down here and obviously I got a bit of a stick from their fans. But I honestly wouldn’t know until it happened. Hopefully it does happen and we’ll see.”